American cyclist makes history with first road race gold in 40 years

PARIS – Kristen Faulkner used a late charge to pull away from the field and win gold in the women’s road race Sunday.

Faulkner, 31, is the first U.S. woman to win gold in the race since Connie Carpenter in 1984.

She covered the 158-km course in 3:59.23, pulling away from a four-racer pack in the final three kilometers.

Marianna Vos of the Netherlands took silver and Lotte Kopecky of Belgium took bronze in a photo finish, 58 seconds behind Faulkner.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

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