American Faulkner stuns favourites in women's road race

4th Aug 2024 | Source: BBC

Kristen Faulkner turned professional in 2020 and previously worked in finance

Kristen Faulkner became the first American winner of the Olympic women's road race in 40 years with a late solo attack in Paris.

A disbelieving Faulkner crossed the line 58 seconds ahead of 2012 champion Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, who edged out Belgian world champion Lotte Kopecky for silver in a photo finish.

Not since Connie Carpenter at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, the year the women's road race was added to the Olympic programme, has an American triumphed in the event.

Pfeiffer Georgi in fifth was the highest-placed Brit, with London silver medallist Lizzie Deignan - at her fourth Olympics - and Anna Henderson 12th and 13th respectively.

With little more than 3km to go of the 158km route, US champion Faulkner and Kopecky trailed Vos and Hungarian Blanka Vas, but as they caught the leading duo, Faulkner launched her attack.

Vos, Vas and Kopecky did not have the energy to chase, and without looking back, 31-year-old Faulkner pushed all the way to the Trocadero finish line, the Eiffel Tower the backdrop to her greatest moment.

"This is a dream come true," she said. "I'm still looking at that finish line sign wondering how my name got there."

The race - which also started at Trocadero before heading out of the city towards the Chevreuse Valley - got off to a muted start, with Burkina Faso's Awa Bamogo and then Slovakia's Nora Jencusova the early movers at the front.

Jencusova built a healthy lead of more than three minutes, but chasers were on her tail around the 100km-to-go mark.

The race continued to prove unpredictable but in the first key moment, with about 50km remaining, the bunch was split in a crash that downed American Chloe Dygert, with all three Britons part of the group that broke away.

On the three laps of the cobbled Butte Montmartre climb, the British trio all made attacks of their own, but were quickly reeled back in.

British champion Georgi was best placed with 10km left, part of the group chasing down Vos and Vas, but slipped behind on the final climb.

"I'm actually a bit gutted. I felt really good all day and I was hoping something special could happen, but my legs just said no and I couldn't follow," she told BBC Sport.

"Fifth is nice, but in that situation, you start thinking 'what if?'"

Henderson, who won time trial silver last Saturday, said: "I wish I could have done more for Pfeiffer, I had one speed today.

"I think I was still stuck in last week."

Faulkner was a late addition to the US road race team, replacing Taylor Knibb who chose to focus on the time trial and triathlon. She finished both in 19th.

Faulkner will also race on the track at these Olympics, competing in the team pursuit for which qualifying starts on Tuesday.

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel won the men's road race on Saturday, adding to his time trial gold won on the first day of the Games.