Kristen Faulkner replaces Taylor Knibb in the road race at the Paris Olympic Games
Elite triathlete Taylor Knibb, who was scheduled to compete for the US team in the women’s road race at the Paris Olympics, has given up her place in the said race. US road race champion Kirsten Faulkner will ride in her place.
The United States has secured two spots in the road race originally scheduled for Knibb and Canyon-SRAM’s Chloé Dygert. Knibb, 26, who rides for Trek Factory Racing, will compete in the other three races she was scheduled for: the time trial, the triathlon and the mixed triathlon.
“There is a very steep learning curve in cycling and I am both excited and nervous about what lies ahead,” Knibb said after qualifying for the team at the national championships in West Virginia in May.
The decision is reportedly due to Knibb’s busy schedule in Paris. By skipping the road race, she will be able to focus more on the time trial and the two triathlon events she will compete in. Knibb heads into the Olympics with a bit of a track record, having won silver in the mixed triathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Faulkner, an Alaska native who rides for EF Education Cannondale, won the national road race in May and finished second behind Knibb in the time trial.
“I’ve dreamed of competing in the Olympics since I was eight years old and saw it on TV. This is the biggest dream I’ve ever had and it’s finally come true,” Faulkner said when she was named to the team. “I’m so excited to represent the USA alongside such a strong group of athletes. I’m going to do my best to bring home a medal for Team USA.”
Unlike Knibb, who has no international experience in mass start races, Faulkner, 31, has stage wins and a mountains classification victory at the Giro Donne, as well as a stage win at the Vuelta Feminina, as well as second at the Tour de Suisse in 2022 and third at the Itzulia Women that same year.
In addition to the road race, Faulkner will compete in the velodrome as part of the team pursuit squad, which consists of Dygert, Lily Williams of Human Powered Health and Jennifer Valente of Blue Ridge-TWENTY24 of Virginia.
The women’s time trial will take place on Saturday, July 27 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The road race will take place on Sunday, August 4 at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Qualifying for the women’s team pursuit is scheduled for Tuesday, August 6 at 11:30 a.m. EDT. The first round and final will follow the next day, Wednesday, August 7 at 7:50 a.m. EDT and 12:50 p.m. EDT, respectively.
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