“The form is good and mentally I am fresh" - Kristen Faulkner targeting Olympic and World Championship double

Back at the Paris Olympic Games earlier this summer, Kristen Faulkner wasn't even supposed to be taking part in the women's road race initially. After being drafted in late on though, the American sensationally fired her way to the gold medal. Can she now double up at the 2024 World Championships?

“It will be a race of attrition. I think it’s going to be a very hard course, with a lot of steep climbs. It will be a strong field. There will be a lot of riders coming out the back. There will be a lot of teams that will want to make it hard. You have to stay turned on and focused, and just hang on as long as you can. An attritional race like this will look very different than five years ago because the field size and the quality is so good now,” the 31-year-old says in a pre-race conversation with Velo. “I generally do well in races of attrition and in races that are really hard. We’ll have to see. It’s a race that a lot different things could happen. It’s my last race of the season and I’m excited.”

Having taken that stunning Olympic gold back in August, Faulkner competed at the Tour de France Femmes, but has since been able to enjoy some rest. “I have never taken seven days off before in the middle of the season. I think it was really good,” Faulkner explains. “Now I feel mentally fresh and I’m excited to race this weekend.”

“There was so much media after Paris and it was such a whirlwind,” Faulkner continues, recalling the sensation she caused back home in the United States thanks to her somewhat unexpected triumph. “I was in such a bubble that I didn’t have a chance to process it on my own. Those few weeks after Paris were so busy I didn’t have the time to really enjoy it because it was just media and racing and traveling. I feel like now I am starting to emotionally process what happened and I can be proud of myself.”

It won't be an easy task to complete an Olympic - World Championship double though. The field of starters in Switzerland is set to be an all-star cast of the best the women's peloton has to offer. “There are a lot of wheels to watch,” she assesses. “A lot of people who could do well on the course, you cannot just pick one.”

Nevertheless, Faulkner is quietly confident. “I think a lot of people are burned out in what’s been a long season,” she concludes. “The form is good and mentally I am fresh because of the break.”