Double Olympic champ Kristen Faulkner on how venture capitalism made her a better cyclist
When the U.S. women's track cycling pursuit team crossed the finish line at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome to win gold at Paris 2024, a little bit of history was made.
For on that team was Kristen Faulkner, champion the week prior in the women's road race. The Alaska native became the first U.S. woman, and just third woman ever, to win Olympic gold in two different disciplines at a single Olympic Games.
And yet barely a few years ago, cycling was all but a hobby for Faulkner, a venture capitalist who had moved to New York City and was working in finance. Her two golds in Paris capped a stunning rise for the Alaskan, whose next goal is the ongoing Tour de France Femmes.
"I went to this introductory wellness clinic, and I think I 50 per cent loved it for the cycling and 50 per cent just because it got me in Central Park every morning," Faulkner told Olympics.com after her double triumph about how she began in the sport at such a late moment in life for an elite sportsperson.
But things could have been very different. Not just because of how Faulkner got into the sport, but because barely a year ago, she was off her bike, having suffered a serious training crash with a car.
"I definitely had to actually meet with a psychologist a few times because I had some fear around coming back to bike racing, fear that I would crash again, fear being on the roads," she admitted.
"I was really scared to ride anywhere near cars for the first few months. I really just had to focus on what I could control and, recognise that there are inherent risks in everything we do.
"Ultimately I had this dream to go to the Olympics and that conquered all my fears. And, you know, I had that passion, that drive I had, was stronger than the fears I had."
Faulkner: Why venture capitalism is just like elite sport
One of the moves of the Games for Faulkner was late on in the road race, when she attacked from the lead group in the closing stages and none of her rivals had the legs to follow her.
It's a move Faulkner said she learned from her years in finance and venture capitalism.
"Venture capitalists, we learn how to take calculated risks, and that's something in racing, I'm not afraid to fail," she explained. "I'm not afraid to take risks, and you saw that in the finale, you know. I very easily could have gotten caught and got dropped, but I'm willing to take risks. I'm willing to put myself out there at risk of failing.
"I think the other thing is just, when you commit to something, you commit to 100 per cent, you don't ever do something halfway or half interested. When I made that attack, I was all in and I didn't look back, and I went all the way to the finish line.
"And I think those kinds of attitudes, definitely I developed more in venture capital."
That type of risk-taking is also what led Faulkner to join the track pursuit team, too. Indeed, she hadn't even raced with the team before 2024.
"January was my first ever team pursuit race in my life," Faulkner revealed. "And so to constantly be learning on the track… it was two days before our race and my team-mates were giving me feedback on how it could be better.
"I think that feedback started my first day and it didn't stop up until race day. And so just being super open to that was really important to get me here."
How Kristen Faulkner approaches juggling a busy schedule
Is there a discipline or gold medal that Faulkner prefers over the other? "That's hard to say, you know, I love them both for different reasons.
"I am quite fortunate that the road race was a pretty punchy course and so it suited that kind of sub-five-minute power – that's exactly what we train on the track.
"So I do think the track training really helped actually with the road race. And I think training for the road and the endurance also helped with the track, you know, the back half of the race. So I do think they complement each other.
"It was just amazing to see that the legs felt really good and that the training actually complemented each other even more than I expected."
But the life of a road cyclist means that right after the Olympic Games are over, the Women's World Tour season resumes with perhaps the biggest Grand Tour race that exists – the Tour de France Femmes, which began in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on 12 August and concludes on the beastly Alpe d'Huez on 18 August.
"I have to be one step at a time," Faulkner said of how she approached such a busy schedule of events.
"Before the road race I was all in on the road race and then I was all in on team pursuit and right now I'm taking some rest - mental, physical, taking some time with my family – and really doing a reset.
"And then as soon as I get to Rotterdam it's all in for the Tour de France. I think it's this mindset really of just focusing on the here and now, being very present, focusing on the current task and not trying to overwhelm yourself with your month-long to do list."
However she does on the Tour, there's one thing that keeps Faulkner coming back to cycling and away from her previous job in finance: "I really love what I do.
"It makes the hard work not seem so hard. It makes coming back from injuries and everything worth it. I enjoy the journey, regardless of the outcome, and I think that's important for anything at this level.
"And then I think the second thing is, if you're going to learn something later in life, just being really open to learning, really open to feedback, you have to be super humble and accept what you don't know and what you need to learn."