Kristen Faulkner rode the race of her life at the Grand Prix Plouay today, sprinting out of a reduced bunch after an attritional 150km, to take third place, her best result in a World Tour event so far.
“Kristen had an amazing sprint to take third place,” said Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank Team Director Hedderman after the finish in Northwest. “I’m super happy with how things went. The teamwork has been really, really good, and it’s starting to show in the results. This is a great accomplishment for the team.”
Faulkner attributed the win to her teammates, who rallied hard under great speeds to maintain ideal placement.
“The race was very hard and high intensity the entire time,” Faulkner said. “The peloton was either pushing a climb, fighting for position for the next corner, or chasing down an attack. The course also had 15mph winds which also made the race hard.”
On the last few laps, there were several attacks that were neutralised by the peloton, however, the eventual winner, Elisa Longo Borghini, attacked on the final lap and went solo to the finish.
“Rachel emphasised the importance of positioning going into the final climb, and so I entered it third wheel, which was key going into the finale,” Faulkner continued. “I stayed towards the front and waited until I saw someone start their sprint, and then I went.”