TTeam USA cyclist Kristen Faulkner secured gold in the women’s road race on Sunday – although her participation in the race almost didn’t happen.
The 31-year-old finished the 158km race with a time of 3:49:23 after advancing in the final straight, launching a counterattack, and moving away from the top three drivers in the race. “I knew we had to attack them as soon as we caught them. I knew they were speedsters. But I knew they didn’t want to work together – they were [from] three different countries. I knew if I got a small gap they would have to race for second place,” Faulkner said after the race.
The victory came as a shock to many, especially as Faulkner was a late addition to the team. USA Cycling guaranteed two places in the women’s road cycling events, for Taylor Knibb and Chloé Dygert. But in early July, Knibb resigned from road running to focusing on triathlon, opening the door for Faulkner to compete. (Dygert crashed on the first bend of the climb up the Cote de la Butte Montmartre with just 45 thousandI left the race and finished in 15th place.)
It’s the U.S.’s first victory in this event in four decades and marks just the second time the U.S. team has won gold in the women’s road race. Connie Carpenter-Phinney took home gold in 1984.
Faulkner, an Alaska native, came to the sport late. In fact, she didn’t start riding a bike until 2016but has demonstrated dominance in the sport in his three Grand Tour stages over the past two years, according to USA Cycling. “This is a dream come true. I’m still looking at the finish line sign and wondering how my name got there,” Faulkner said after the race.
The Dutch Marianne Vos won silver and Lotte Kopecky, from Belgium, bronze in the event.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
