Surprised, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education -oatly) cannot contain your emotion when AS He gives him The photos. They are two and portray two of the most important moments of his career. In one, he appears on the bike, celebrating his victory in the fourth stage of The return to female Spain last year, in Zaragoza; In the other, it is in front of the Torre Eiffelposing with the gold medal that he won in the Olympic Paris gamesin the route test. Although it does not seem like first, they are very connected. “The two photos show that You have to follow your dreams And your heart, never give in the effort. And that, if you really believe in something, you have to listen and go for it, ”he says with a wide smile.
Faulkner talks to this newspaper in stonesbefore precisely, the fourth stage of this edition of La Vuelta and in the province of Zaragoza. When, a year ago, he raised his arms in Aragonese territory, surely no You could imagine all that It would arrive later. “Paris did not change the perception that I have of myself, but it has changed how people see me. From the media point of view, I am more requested than ever and the fans recognize me,” he explains about his new life as Olympic champion. A life that, in reality, began with its attack in Zaragoza, Little more than 5 kilometers of finish and in the fastest stage in the history of the return (average of 46,754 km/h).
In Paris, he used the same formula, launching 3.5 km from the end. “Before having done it in Zaragoza, I had not attacked in this way. My attacks had been from afar, to shoot alone an hour or 45 minutes. It was the first time I tied in the final stretch and He taught me that I could do it. When I jumped in the games, I felt that confidence of having already achieved it before and felt that I could reach the end. Now, it is already a tactic that I have, ”relates the American, who saw the national champion jersey. This year, I could use it in the sixth roundLlana and between Becerril de Campos and Baltanás, which indicates as a personal objective.
So, I could add another spicy to a palmraés that is already A lot of entity (12 victories) And that premiered not so much. Faulkner, 32, It did not start to compete until los 27. Before, and after having studied computer engineering in Harvard, he worked as an analyst for venture capital funds and the bike was in the background. Until a “now or never.” “As I felt happier it was about the bike. In addition, since I had a child I had dreamed of going to games. I had a very stable job, with a good salary and good bosses. On paper, I had the perfect life, but I was missing something. It doesn’t matter how your life looks perfect outside, you have to be complete inside. And I knew it would not be complete if I did not chase that dream, ”he reflects. And he attacked in Zaragoza. And gold was hung in Paris.
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