If you dont know who Kristen Faulkner is, youve probably been living under a rock. Kristen recently made headlines by clinching, not one but two, Olympic gold medals.Im thrilled to bring you an inspiring conversation with one of the biggest names in womens pro cycling today. In this interview, we dive deep into her story exploring the incredible mental strength shes developed to thrive at the highest level of her sport.Kristen opens up about the unique struggles female cyclists encounter and shares some golden nuggets of wisdom for any girl or woman dreaming of a professional cycling career. Shes not just a champion because of her athletic prowess; shes someone whos combined her diverse life experiences, unique skills, and sheer passion to craft a formula for success that we can all learn from. I know youre going to find her insights just as powerful and motivating as I did.Photo credit: Anouk FleschListen To The InterviewOr Watch On YouTubeSome Of My Favorite Moments On the Impact of Winning Olympic Gold: Its been really exciting to share my story, but also really exhausting. Its made me realize that I can use my voice to impact womens sports, get more girls on bikes, and raise the profile of cycling.On Womens Cycling and Gender Parity: The only way to really bring gender parity to the sport is to raise the profile and get more people viewing the sport if I can get more people interested in cycling, I think we can bridge the gender gap.On Mental Health and Resilience: I was diagnosed with depression in high school and had to see a psychologist again in 2022 at the World Championship. Having a circle of people you can call anytime is essential, and Ive built that over my career.On Building Mental Strength: I really like The Little Book of Stoicism. It taught me to focus on what I can control and not stress about what I cant that mindset has been a game-changer for me.On Her Approach to Life and Career: I dont want to sound like a cop-out, but I really try to ensure that everything I do is something I enjoy. Im not just pursuing things for success; Im doing what makes me happy.On Advice for Aspiring Cyclists: Spend time on your bike, have fun, and work on your skills find strong women to ride with and build that community, because that feminine energy is so important.On Her Late Start in Cycling: Starting late has been an advantage. I had a career before cycling, so Im not worried about what comes next. I feel like Im choosing cycling every day, and that makes a big difference.On Womens Cycling Progress and Remaining Challenges: TV coverage has improved, and more money is flowing into the sport, but theres still a big pay gap. Id like to see women get paid the same as men for doing the same work.On Taking Risks and Learning from Failure: Im okay with risk if I attack and get caught, I dont think twice about it. I see it as a portfolio of attempts; one will land eventually.Connect With Kristen Instagram:@kristenfaulkner Website:https://www.kristenfaulkner.com/ Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/16855613More Episodes You Might EnjoyKate Veronneau Interview: The Future Of Womens CyclingIsla Short Interview: Mental Health And ConfidenceLael Wilcox Interview: Biking Around The WorldAbout The HostKristen Bonkoski is the founder and owner of Femme Cyclist.An avid cyclist for a few decades now, she took to cycling during her late teen years a time when she needed something to help boost her self-esteem and confidence.Mission accomplished, the sport has become an important part of her life. Kristens favorite disciplines are mountain biking andbike commuting, although youcan also find her crankingout a century on her road bike and touring with her husband and son. If it has to do with two wheels, she enjoys doing it.Kristen is a certified USA Cycling coach, and she runsRascal Rides, a website about biking with kids.IG:@femme_cyclistFull TranscriptKristen Bonkoski:0:00If you dont know who Kristen Faulkner is, youve probably been living under a rock. Kristen recently made headlines by clinching not one, but two Olympic gold medals. Im thrilled to bring you an inspiring conversation with one of the biggest names in womens pro cycling today. In this interview, we dive deep into her story, exploring the incredible mental strength shes developed to thrive at the highest level of her sport. Kristen opens up about the unique struggles female cyclists encounter and shares some golden nuggets of wisdom for any girl or woman dreaming of a professional cycling career. Shes not just a champion because of her athletic prowess. Shes someone whos combined her diverse life experiences, unique skills and sheer passion to craft a formula for success that we can all learn from. I know youre going to find her insights just as powerful and motivating as I did.Kristen Bonkoski:1:02Real quick, before we jump into todays episode, I want to tell you about the training plans Ive created for you all. Whether youre looking to get a little fitter or faster, or you have a big event or race you need to prepare for, a structured training plan can help you achieve your goals. I have a variety of pre-made training plans you can choose from, or I can build you a custom training plan specific to your needs. Podcast listeners get 50% off with coupon code PODCAST50. Head to femmecyclist.com to get started. Its been about a month since you won not one, but two gold medals at the Olympics, which is so huge and congratulations. How has your life changed since then?Kristen Faulkner:1:49Its changed in a lot of ways. I mean, the first was just theres a lot of media attention, you know, at the Tour de France, a lot of cameras on me and Ive been doing about two hours of podcasts every single day since the tour finished, and so its been quite busy just from a media standpoint and and keeping up with it all. And then I think you know, Im writing a book about it. Ive had some inquiries about, you know, documentary or movie, and its just been really busy. I think people want to hear the story and they want to hear it from me, and so its been really exciting to be able to share my story, but also really exhausting and but its but its good, you know. I think its its made me realize that, um, that I can really use my voice now to have an impact on you know, bringing more women um get, bringing more people to watch womens sports, getting more girls on bikes and um, just like really raising the profile of the sport. Its its um a really exciting position to be in.Kristen Bonkoski:2:41Why is that something thats important to you?Kristen Faulkner:2:44Um, I think, for for me, you know, womens cycling its something thats so big in Europe, you know, and and cycling in general, well, theres in. In Europe cycling is a really big sport.Kristen Faulkner:2:54in America its not, and I think, for me, the more people we can bring into cycling. I think the more um eyeballs watching womens cycling, the higher the viewership. The higher the sponsors, the higher the salaries for the sport, you know, and, and so thats really important for me, largely because right now its a very male dominated sport. The mens salaries at the top are over 10 times the women, and I think the only way to really bring gender parity to the sport is to raise the profile and get more people viewing the sport, and so if I can get more people interested in cycling, I think we can bridge the gender gap in the sport.Kristen Bonkoski:3:25I think to the public, an Olympic medal is like the biggest thing Is that to you. Has this been your biggest cycling accomplishment so far, or is it something else?Kristen Faulkner:3:36Its definitely been my biggest accomplishment. I think, you know, I was eight years old watching the Olympics. Im thinking, oh, I want to do that one day. And you know, its a culmination of years and years of really dreaming about it and not sure if I would make it happen. And so, to have it happen, its a bit surreal. And, um, you know, people ask me the day after the Olympics, have you processed it yet? And I was like no. And then, a week after, have you processed it yet? And I said no, and nows happened. You know, when you work for something for decades or you know years and years and then in the span of minutes or hours, it can totally change your life. I think it takes a really long time to adjust to that.Kristen Bonkoski:4:13Yeah, absolutely. Theres been a lot of discussion about the mental health of Olympic athletes and notably Michael Phelps did a documentary, the Weight of Gold. Has that ever been something for you? Have you ever struggled with your mental health?Kristen Faulkner:4:29Yeah, definitely. In fact, I was diagnosed with depression when I was in high school and, yeah, I saw a psychologist and a psychiatrist for quite a long time through my adulthood and then in 2022, at the World Championship, I actually had to go back and see my psychologist because I was really struggling and I wasnt sure if I was going to race and I really leaned on my coach a lot, who was down there with me to kind of get me motivated out of the hotel every day and get to training and and it was a tough time because theyre you know, the world championships are really big event and it was my first time doing the time trial there, which Id worked all year to have that spot. And so when you work all year to have this opportunity and then you get there and your mental health isnt in the right place, its a really you know its really hard because youre youre dealing with that, but then youre also dealing with like, but I dont want to give up this opportunity, I dont want to waste this opportunity, and so you almost push yourself even harder to try and, you know, get to the race and and so I think for me having a psychologist and a mental coach throughout my career who I can, you know, maybe go to when I need them and then take some time off, and I think its just really important to have someone on call when you need them, you know. Have someone whos always there. And then I think the, you know, equally important though is is having a circle of people who you can just pick up the phone and call any time of day, no matter what, and for me, I really built that over the course of my career.Kristen Faulkner:5:50I think in school, you know, I had my friends and I had my parents, and I think, as Ive gotten older, Ive tried to build a circle of people who, you know, care about me just as much, but maybe also have a bit more insight into what Im going through, who understand, you know, and so its, I think, important to have people whove known you in your whole life, but its also important to have people who know the industry and who know the struggles youre facing, who can really not just sympathize with you but empathize with you, yeah, and so, yeah, Ive made a big effort throughout my career to really like build that circle around me, and I think its made the biggest difference to my mental health.Kristen Bonkoski:6:26Are there any women that have served for you, like as mentors, or that you have looked up to within the cycling world?Kristen Faulkner:6:33Yeah, I mean in terms of mental health or just in general.Kristen Bonkoski:6:36Just, in general, but it could be either, but I just imagine. I imagine its kind of a lonely place to be. There arent a lot of you know gold medalists out there in the world. There arent a lot of you know gold medalists out there in the world. There arent a lot of women performing at the level youre performing at. Have there been others ahead of you that youve been able to look to for help?Kristen Faulkner:6:53Yeah, although to be honest, I dont think um like for me, I I say the person whos been most impactful was actually my coach at um. Whos my coach for five years. He was a guy actually and I felt that you know, he hadnt he hadnt won a gold medal before. He wasnt a woman who was experiencing the gender inequality, but hes someone who had raced in Europe for so long and when I first moved to Europe, he was really impactful because he was the one who was like you know, go to the dentist because youre eating sugary foods on the bike every day and make sure that you call your parents and make sure that you take three days off the bike after a big tour and just gave me a lot of advice that I think was really helpful. Um, and to be honest, I think its um.Kristen Faulkner:7:36Theres definitely women I look up to in the sport and Ive definitely had mentors. I mean, theres a girl, nina, whos been on my team for the five years Ive been pro, like every single team Ive been on. Shes been on, weve been on three different teams together and she was quite experienced when I started and and so for me, you know, shes seen me progress from my earliest days and I think having someone in the Peloton who knows me super well, who can act as a mentor, has been quite helpful for me who knows me super well, who can act as a mentor, has been quite helpful for me.Kristen Bonkoski:8:12Aside from like the support system youve built, is there anything specific youve done to work on, like your mental strength in terms of meditation or mantras or journaling? What does that kind of look like for you?Kristen Faulkner:8:20Yeah, definitely One book that I really like. Its called the Little Book of Stoicism and it talks about just the stoic mindset, which is control what you can control and dont worry about anything else. You know, just really put all your energy into controlling what you can control. And I think when I was younger and even when I started out my career, I think there were things I couldnt control that I would get really stressed about. You know, its like Id get really stressed about the rain outside when I wanted to rain or when I wanted to ride, or Id get really stressed about, you know, things on the team or just the fact that I was far away from home, and those things would stress me out. And I think learning to really just focus on what I can control and have that be the only thing that takes my mental energy really helped me a lot, because suddenly you know theres actually this, um, this diagram. I saw one time that I really like and it said you know, can you fix it or can you and can you fix the situation? And then it was a decision tree and it was like, yes, okay, then dont worry about it because you can fix it. And then it was like can you change the situation? No, change the situation, no, okay, dont worry about it. And I think it was interesting because it just, um, it really taught me that I was like stressing out too much. I needed to just really not stress about the things I couldnt control, and then when there were things I could control, just like, go fix it, go do what I needed to do. Um, so thats thats been really helpful. Um, I do write in a journal. I find thats really helpful for me to relax and I like having my memories on paper because I can go back and I think when I retire Ill want to remember some of these things, and I find that when I put my thoughts on paper I dont bottle them up so much and I kind of just its a way to like let them out thought I was extroverted.Kristen Faulkner:10:06Im one of five children and we grew up in an incredibly chaotic household. You know it was. It was a loving household, but it, just like all of us, did sports. We were running around, there were baseballs flying through the window and basketballs and hot. You know I had three brothers and and, yeah, I had friends over, and so I was always surrounded by people. And then in college, you know, I always had roommates, and so I spent most of my life around other people and I always thought, oh, Im extroverted, you know, Im always around people, and it wasnt until I started cycling and actually living on my own, where I was like, wow, I really like.Kristen Faulkner:10:35Having alone time Like this is really important to me, and so between races, I actually spend quite a lot of time alone and, and Im not lonely, I just enjoy being able to decompress in that way, and I found that when I give myself alone time, my mental health is so much better because I can just decompress, I can relax and I can really just self-reflect and focus on what I need and fulfilling my needs. And then, when I go back to the team, Im so much more fresh, and so thats been something thats really helped me is just realizing, oh, actually Im so much more fresh, and so thats been something thats really helped me is just realizing, oh, actually, Im not what I always thought I was. I actually I have different needs that I didnt realize before, and and and I need to cater to those needs.Kristen Bonkoski:11:13What does an average day look like for you right now?Kristen Faulkner:11:16Oh goodness, there is no average day, to be honest. So Im currently at the US Olympic Training Center. So on Monday, wednesday, friday I have track training. Usually I go to the velodrome at 9am. Im there for two to three hours doing kind of high intensity interval type work. I wake up quite early. I wake up at six. I usually do an hour of work on the computer. Im actually writing a book right now. So I usually devote that time to kind of putting my ideas out, kind of waking up before you know breakfast, and then I go to breakfast for half an hour. I come back, I do some, maybe some stretching, some light, you know, glute activation, um and then go to training, come back, have lunch, go ride the road for two hours, afterwards, come back, see the physio or massage to do some body work and then I go to dinner and then in the evenings Ill work on my nutrition course because Im currently getting my masters in nutrition.Kristen Bonkoski:12:14Oh, wow.Kristen Faulkner:12:15Yeah, its an online course. Im really enjoying it. Its its just something I started this fall, but Ive always had an interest in nutrition and, yeah, the opportunity came through the USOPC to do this online course and so I decided to pursue it.Kristen Bonkoski:12:29I mean, you were, like so mind-blowingly impressive. Youre not only this Olympic gold medalist, you went to Harvard, you had a successful career in finance. Youre now a professional cyclist and working on your masters degree. What do you think it is about you that makes you so?Kristen Faulkner:12:48successful. Honestly, this I dont want this to sound like a cop-out answer, um, but I really try to make sure that everything I do is something I really enjoy. So Im not Im not just getting a masters, Im, and I wouldnt be getting my masters. To get a masters, I mean, it took me until I was 31 to decide this was worth it. You know, Im doing it because I love nutrition and I love learning about nutrition, and so for me, I dont see it as like, oh, Im getting my masters. I see it as like, oh, I get to learn about this topic I really enjoy, and in a structured environment, you know, and someones like theyre teaching me about this topic I am really curious to learn more about.Kristen Faulkner:13:23And then you know, with finance, like I had lots of job offers after college, I chose venture capital because it was the it actually paid the least of all my offers, but I was the most excited about it.Kristen Faulkner:13:36I was interested in working with entrepreneurs. I wanted to support more female entrepreneurs, I wanted to learn about startups, and so I think Ive taken a lot of steps in my life. That might seem kind of like the wrong decision in the short term, but the right one in the long term. You know I didnt take the highest job offer after college, but I took a job I really loved and then I ended up leaving that job to go make $7,000 a year, my first year as a cyclist moving to Europe. My parents had no idea what I was doing. It was a huge risk and that seemed like a totally bad decision to most people, but for me I was just doing what made me happy and I only became an Olympian years later. You know it wasnt. I think I was. You know people talk about this quick trajectory, but I mean there were four years where I wasnt an Olympian.Kristen Faulkner:14:19My parents you know, like there wasnt a lot of media around me, it was, it was four years of like very little validation of what I was doing.Kristen Faulkner:14:26And so I think, for you know I dont want to sound like a cop-out, but like it in retrospect, its like, oh, shes done all these successful things, but before I did any of them, like they werent obvious decisions, they werent um, decisions I made because I wanted to be successful. Theyre decisions I made because it made me happy. And then, once I started in that pursuit, I was like, okay, now I want to be the best I can be, um, but if I had, you know, at 26 years old, decided that being successful was more important than being happy, I never would have become a cyclist and I never would have won these gold medals. And so I think we always feel more motivated and were always more inspired when were doing something we really love. And I think its important to remember that, because when we think theres no successful paths in our passion, you know we can, we can create success there. It just might take a little longer and the path might not be as clear when we start.Kristen Bonkoski:15:18I love that. Whats next for you? What goals do you still have that you havent accomplished yet?Kristen Faulkner:15:24Yeah, well, I have kind of a two-year plan, a five-year plan, you know, a 10-year plan I think you know I want to make. I want to stay cycling until LA. Id like to go to the LA Olympics. Thats something Im really excited about. Its home Olympics, so thats kind of on the horizon for me. I have the world championship coming up at the end of September in Zurich, so thats also a big goal of mine and I think for the next few years, you know, maybe I want to.Kristen Faulkner:15:52You know I have quite a few goals in the bike. Id like to win a world championship at the time trial. At some point in my career. Id like to win a big stage race. You know, as a GC rider, become a bit more of a GC rider. Id like to finish my book and publish a book about my Olympic journey. And, yeah, maybe at some point before Im 40, Id like to start a family, but I dont know when I want to do that, you know. And so theres kind of these, these short-term and these long-term goals, and its kind of taking one step at a time.Kristen Bonkoski:16:19Thereve been a lot of changes in womens pro cycling over the last couple of years. Things have kind of like moved rapidly, it seems like um. What changes have you seen during that period of time and what changes would you still like to see take place?Kristen Faulkner:16:34Yeah, the first is TV coverage. You know, when I started cycling in Europe, my parents didnt know anything about cycling and there was no TV coverage to watch me, so they really had no idea what I was doing, what my life was like, what were these races I was going to? Were there even fans at them? What did it mean to let a break go? What did it mean to be in a break? Like they had no idea. And so the media coverage for women has just really improved over the last few years and now pretty much every world tour race you can watch on TV and in some of the non-world tour races as well. And so thats been really great for, you know, bringing more, more fans to the sport, which brings more viewership and media and dollars to the sport. But its also just been good from a personal level and for my friends and family to be able to see what I do for my, for a life and for my living. You know, yeah, um, so tv coverage is one. The second is I think theres been a lot more money going into womens cycling and we see that, um, with a lot of mens teams adding womens teams, which bring more resources. You know, they bring team buses, they bring physios, they bring doctors to every race, they bring more media, and so the resources and support that women are getting is also much higher, and that also means theres more scrutiny on the teams. And so I think you know, five or 10 years ago you may have heard some sketchy situations where maybe, like you know, there was an inappropriate you know team manager that was a man, or you know there are some sketchy things happening and now, because its under the radars, you know, theres these bigger companies involved. I think the sport is actually a very safe place for women now, and I dont think that was always true, and I think you still maybe hear about, you know, uncomfortable situations on really small teams, but I think by and large its way better than it was 10 years ago.Kristen Faulkner:18:15And then I think womens salaries have definitely gone up. You know, when I started I was barely I mean, I wasnt making enough to live off of, you know. And now theres minimum wage for all the major teams. They have requirements that they have to give minimum wage to the writers, and then also at the top, the top writers are making way more than they used to, and so I think its motivating for a lot of women because they see, oh, I can actually make, you know, nowhere near the men, but I can make a lot more money than I would have, you know, five years ago even, and um, so thats really exciting to see.Kristen Faulkner:18:47And then just the level, you know, because women dont have to work part-time jobs on the side, they can devote more time to training and recovery, they can go on their five hour rides, they can go to the gym, they can go to the physio and can go to the physio, and so, as a result, the races are getting way harder.Kristen Faulkner:19:00You know, its like the fitness level is higher. Girls are able to take, you know, the full season, because before they maybe couldnt take time off work, and so now theyre doing more races, theyre getting better at racing and so and were getting, you know, were able to hire better directors in the races, which helps with team strategy, and then the girls pick up on that strategy. So the whole field is just way stronger. And I think, you know, if you were good five years ago and you stayed at the same level, like you would not be competitive today at all you know, and everyone, even the people who are at the top, have had to continuously improve to stay at the top, and, um, thats a really great thing for the sport.Kristen Faulkner:19:35Yeah, so I think those are the main things. You know, what I would like to see get better? I think salaries still, you know, need to go higher. The discrepancy between the top men and women is over 10 times, you know, and Id like to see women getting paid the same for men for doing the same work and working just as hard and same sacrifices. You know, yeah, thats a big one.Kristen Faulkner:19:59I think more viewership for womens sports. Right now, you know, more people watch mens racing and I think thats because you hear about mens racing. Its promoted online. Um, you hear about the mens characters because for every article about a woman, theres, you know, a hundred articles about one of the top men, and I think people say like, oh, but no one watches womens racing and its like, well, no ones going to watch something if they dont know about the players or the camaraderie.Kristen Faulkner:20:20You know the rivalries Like we have to invest in it to get people excited about. You know the rivalries, the stories, the characters, you know the courses, and so Id like to see more investment up front go into womens cycling so that we can bring the exposure that we need. Um, and then, yeah, I think, um, those are, those are the primary things. I mean, prize money from race organizers is still a huge discrepancy, you know, I think for the Tour de France and for a lot of these major races, um, you know, its five to 10 times prize purse compared to men and women, and so we do the exact same race on the same day and, um, the the men get way more for winning and thats, you know, hurtful and disappointing, especially when the spectators are there for both races, you know, yeah.Kristen Faulkner:21:07Aside from the pay disparity, is there anything like on a personal level that you feel like has been a challenge as a female cyclist, specifically as maybe, as opposed to a male cyclist- yeah, I mean Ill just give an example, like one time at a race I had a really bad saddle sore, you know, and it was low and it was located right between my legs in a really private spot, and we only had male doctors at the at the race and I really needed someone to look at it because I was worried, you know, would this get infected, will it open up? And so you know, would this get infected, will it open up? And so you know, its just like having a male doctor look at you as a little different from having a woman, and those are just some things like theres not. We bring doctors over from the mens team, you know, and we dont have our own doctor. I mean, we, we do. Now on the team Im in EFO, lee Cannadale does, but in prior teams we didnt.Kristen Faulkner:21:52And so, um, yeah, I think just things like that, you know, or having just a female director, a female manager, I think it gives me a role model. You know how do they carry themselves in a room full of men, how do they speak, how do they dress, how do they talk? You know, how do they like, when you watch a woman, its a little different from watching a man, and even if theyre both equally good at their jobs and they can both hold their conversation in a room, I pick up on cues from the woman that I might not pick up on on the man, from the man. You know, its like I can be like that one day. Thats how I can hold myself and and I think you, um, you really need those female role models in life and as a womans team. In the last few years, I think theres more women working in the industry, more women who are being hired in senior roles, and in the past there just werent that many women in senior roles because the industry was dominated by men.Kristen Bonkoski:22:52What advice do you have for young women or girls? Listening to this were like Id really like to be a professional cyclist too.Kristen Faulkner:23:00Id say get on your bike and, you know, if you want to hire a coach and start training, then you can do that. Um, the biggest thing is just spend time on your bike. You know, get and have fun on your bike. You know, um, go around some corners or race your friend, learn bike handling. I think when I started, I was so focused on my fitness I was like I want to be fit, but actually when you, when you want to race, uh, the technical aspects are way more important or equally important. You know, and, and so I think um, for young girls who want to be cyclists, like, go work on your skills too. You know um, join some group rides with the men to challenge yourselves, um, and find some really strong women to ride with. You know, because, you know, having a strong group of women who you can go ride with makes a big difference. It makes it more fun to make friends and also theres just this feminine like, theres this energy.Kristen Faulkner:23:49When youre in a group of strong women, you feel this feminine energy that you just dont get when youre around men and I dont mean to make that like a you know, gendered thing too much, but like there is something about being in a strong group of people who are like you and having that group and having that community. That I think is really important for all of us.Kristen Bonkoski:24:08Absolutely. You had kind of a late start to cycling. You didnt start until your 20s, although you were a competitive athlete before that. Do you think that late start has actually been an advantage for you? Or like, for instance, I know a lot of kids who are 12 years old and theyre already, like, very focused on cycling and sometimes they burn out. Does that, do you think that the timeframe where you started has been helpful?Kristen Faulkner:24:35Yeah, I mean. The truth is, Ill never know, right.Kristen Faulkner:24:38Ill never know what it had been, what it would have been like if I had started young, and I think the best answer I can give is I have a lot more skills in certain ways that I wouldnt have had otherwise if Id started young. I was also lacking certain skills that I didnt have, and I think, um, for me, I I do see it as an advantage in a lot of ways. I mean, the first is I had a career before cycling, and so theres not a single part of me thats worried about my post-cycling career, like a lot of people are like oh, when I retire from cycling, what am I going to do?Kristen Faulkner:25:08And it causes them anxiety. Or maybe they race longer than they want to and they start hating the sport because they feel like they have to do it.Kristen Faulkner:25:16Its their only job hating the sport because they feel like its their, they have to do it, its their only job. You know, theyre like I dont know what else I could do, and then it becomes like a job to them instead of something they really love. And I think for me, because I had a job before and I a job that I you know Im theory could go back to, I never feel this pressure Like I have to be here. You know, cycling doesnt. I mean it does feel like my job, but it doesnt feel like a job I have to do. It feels like a job Im choosing to do Every day. I feel like Im choosing it, you know, and that makes a big difference. I also think I learned a lot of things in my professional career that I brought to cycling and you know the thorough diligence I did on companies. I bring that to racing.Kristen Faulkner:25:56I studied the course, I studied the riders like Im super thorough and how I assess and analyze and study for things, because I had to be so thorough and that my job and I think that really sped up my learning trajectory and I I learned on the job like what questions to ask, how to be super curious, how to ask every question you could possibly think of. You know and and when I approach a race, I do the same thing I check all my boxes and learning how to do such thorough research and thorough diligence really helped me. I think another thing that Ive spoken about before is in venture capital. We invest in highly risky startups. So maybe we invest in 10 companies and only two or three are successful, half of them kind of break even, and then some of them dont work out and you end up losing money, but the ones who win you return the entire fund, and so its this industry thats very polarizing. Its these massive wins and then a lot of losses.Kristen Faulkner:26:52And so when I started cycling, like I was very okay with risk, I was very okay failing, like if the camera was on me and I attacked and I got caught, like it didnt, like I didnt think twice about it. I wasnt like, oh, I failed on TV and everyone saw me Like I was just like, okay, you know, try the next one, like it didnt phase me at all. I was just like, okay, you know, try the next one, like it didnt phase me at all. And that attitude, it just allowed me to be a very aggressive rider, like I would attack and attack and attack again, and I wasnt scared of getting cut back and ultimately thats my race style Like thats how I won at the Olympics was I just go for it?Kristen Faulkner:27:25You know, Im not, Im not afraid, and I think that was largely informed from my job, where I knew that if I just did over and over and over again enough times and strategically, one of them would land and one of them would result in a win, you know. And so I think I thought of it as, like this portfolio of attempts, as opposed to just like you know, on any given one, if theres a 20% chance you make it, most people wouldnt do it, but for me Im like, okay, if I do it five times, Ill make it one of them and then Ill win, you know. So I think the way that I approached it and the way I put racing and strategy was just a little bit different from other people and it allowed me to win in ways that maybe other people wouldnt have been so willing to try.Kristen Bonkoski:28:05Yeah, thats super interesting. I love that, like all of your experience comes to make you who you are.Kristen Faulkner:28:11Right, yeah, and I think you know, if I think its not necessarily like I mean starting late, I knew I had a lot to catch up on, so I had this sense of urgency too, but I think you know, if I started late or started early, I think the biggest thing is just that I had a range of experiences that allowed me to learn so many different skill sets that I could then transfer over to cycling. And so when I see kids specializing really, really young, my fear is, like you know, if they specialize in triathlon, like well, they learn hand-eye coordination skills that they need, you know, later if theyre on the bike doing bike handling and hand-on coordination skills to like dodge a um, like a hole in the ground, you know, and so like theres all these things and and for me, I was an endurance athlete my entire life and, yes, Id done swimming and rowing and things, but my biggest weakness when I started cycling was my bike handling, because I didnt spend a ton of time on soccer and and ball sports.Kristen Faulkner:29:09You know, I didnt spend a ton of time on soccer and and ball sports, you know, and so I think when we do different skills, we we actually learn different skills that are highly transferable, even if we dont realize theyre transferable at the time.Kristen Bonkoski:29:18Yes, what have I not asked you that you would like folks listening to know?Kristen Faulkner:29:25Oh, thats a great question. Um, you know Ive had a lot of people ask me, like, were you scared when you left your job? Were you scared about taking the jump? And my answer is, like, absolutely Like I dont. I dont want people to think that I just like left my job and won two gold medals.Kristen Faulkner:29:43Like there was so much behind the scenes, like there was years of, you know, getting flat tires in the rain and having to call an Uber and being late late for my meeting. And you know like, missing holidays with my family and traveling. You know like there were so many things that made it so hard that I dont think the media talks about. And you know, I always say like 99 of it is the work and the one percent is you on stage winning a race or winning a medal. And like thats, people see the one percent but they dont see the 99% behind the scenes.Kristen Faulkner:30:11And so if youre working on something and youre like I keep failing, Im struggling, I feel like Im falling, all that like thats normal and thats a normal part of the process. Its normal to feel like youre failing Sometimes. Its normal to feel scared, its normal to feel a bit overwhelmed or to feel like youre in over your head. I mean you over your head. I mean you dont want to have that every day, but when, when youre pursuing something really ambitious, um, or even when youre pursuing something thats risky, like youre going to have a lot of moments of uncertainty where it doesnt seem like its working out. And I think if you just really keep your focus on the big goal and control, you can control and just have a little patience. I think itll all work out in the end. But just dont like, dont forget that thats all part of the process and to just be patient in the long run.Kristen Bonkoski:30:56I have three final questions for you. But first, do you have any sponsors you want to give a shout out to, and where can people come follow along with you?Kristen Faulkner:31:04Yeah, so the three main sponsors of our team are EF Education, oatly, which is an oatmeal company, and Cannondale, which is a bike company, and they have supported our team. Not just. You know, theyve made a big effort to really have a good womens team and when you buy from those brands youre also supporting womens cycling. So I just want to give a shout out to them. And your other question oh, where?Kristen Bonkoski:31:28can people come follow you?Kristen Faulkner:31:30yeah, I post mostly on instagram. My handle is arctic fox a-r-c-t-i-c-f-a-u-l-k-s, and then I also have a strava account where you can follow my rides. So those are probably the two, two social media platforms that Im I put, like the only two that Im really active on.Kristen Bonkoski:31:47Three final questions. The first one is what bike or bikes do you ride?Kristen Faulkner:31:52I ride a Cannondale and its a road bike. I also have their mountain bike and their gravel bike, so Im all in on Cannondale.Kristen Bonkoski:31:59Second, question is where is your favorite place? Youve ever ridden your bike.Kristen Faulkner:32:05I would say in Menlo Park. Well, in Marin, on Highway 1, its just absolutely stunning Over distance and beach on the waterfront over there, or one of the rides near Menlo Park where I rode my bike for years while I was training and got to know those climbs really well.Kristen Bonkoski:32:25Final question is what is your favorite thing about riding your bike?Kristen Faulkner:32:29I love when the suns on my face and the winds on my face and I just feel like theres no one around me, its just me and nature. I think its an amazing feeling and thats when I feel so free and creative and its just me and my bike and the open air, and thats an amazing feeling.Kristen Bonkoski:32:48Id love to ask you a favor. My bike and the open air, and thats an amazing feeling. Id love to ask you a favor. If you enjoyed this episode, can you please go ahead and share it? You can do that by sharing it on your Instagram stories or just letting a friend know about it. The more that you help us get the word out, the more women we reach, the better quality of guests we get on the show. So its a team effort and I really, really appreciate you. Until next time, happy riding.The post Kristen Faulkner Interview: A Formula For Success appeared first on Femme Cyclist.