After a dream 2024 season that included two Olympic gold medals, US road race champion Kristen Faulkner has called an end to her mishap-filled year of racing after having to undergo surgery on her shoulder.
Faulkner won the women's road race and Team Pursuit gold on the track in Paris last August but has struggled for much of the year. First, a concussion sustained in a training crash last December delayed the Alaska native's season debut.
Then, after she won the US Pro Road National Championships in May, her form was on the rise with the Tour de France Femmes a major goal. However, a series of crashes in that race led to Faulkner dropping out on stage 5.
"Kristen injured her shoulder at the Tour," EF Pro Cycling Head Doctor Jon Greenwell said in a team press release. "After she'd had a few days' rest, she noticed that her shoulder was still pretty painful, so we organized an MRI scan that showed some damage to the cartilage, which could potentially cause some shoulder instability."
Faulkner was forced to turn down her position on USA Cycling's team for the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda. Only two of the country's six open positions for the elite women's road race have been filled - Chloé Dygert and Ruth Edwards will represent the country in Rwanda.
Faulkner now faces several weeks of rehabilitation before she can resume training.
"After consulting with USA Cycling and a couple of orthopedic doctors in America, we decided that the best thing to do for her long-term health was an operation to repair the cartilage," Greenwell said.
"We didn't want to leave it and then have her suffer from pain and instability later, so now was the best time to do it. The rehab process will be about six weeks before she can get back on the bike, and then she'll be ready to go for a full preseason to race next year."
Faulkner, 32, is now looking forward to the coming year.
"The surgery was very successful," she said. "I am recovering now, and with the timing of it, I'll be able to start next season on a normal timeline. I'll be healthy and fully recovered going into next season."
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