Rewind: Olympic Gold Medalist Kristen Faulkner - The Power of Positive Risk Taking, Why She Walked Away from Her Dream Job & the Path to Pro Cycling Success

Kristen Faulkner is an American pro cyclist who won the gold medal in the women’s cycling road race at the Paris Olympics in truly stunning fashion, surpassing two of the most dominant racers in the sport with a bold attack that left them looking at each other while she drilled it to victory. It’s one of my favorite bike races I’ve ever watched. If you want to know what it took for Kristen to get to her gold medal moment, this episode is for you. Remember in life and sport, everything changes. No risks, no champagne. This episode is a replay of my 2023 conversation with Kristen and Spencer Martin, my co-host on Beyond the Peloton, America’s fastest growing independent pro cycling analysis podcast. My whole family loves watching Kristen race and my daughter is one of her biggest fans. After this episode originally aired, Kristen took time to send my daughter a video encouraging her to keep riding and to keep doing the art projects she loves. Trust me when I tell you that’s not something that many world-class athletes would take the time to do. Kristen did, because that’s the kind of human she is. When you reach out and lift people up, it makes a difference. This episode is brought to you by The Better Lab. I’ve found that when I get bad sleep, everything in my life is worse and when I get good sleep, everything in my life gets better--I’m a better parent, I’m a better partner to my wife, I’m more creative, I think more clearly, I’m more effective at work and I enjoy riding my bike more. The science to get great sleep is straightforward. But putting it into practice can be really hard. That’s why we built The Better Lab, the app that guides you to mindfully build science-backed practices to sleep better that stick. What works is what you get done consistently and The Better Lab helps you take simple steps every day to be more present, aware and conscious as you build one practice at a time to sleep better. Get the Better Lab app now for free in the Apple App Store and learn more at www.thebetterlab.io. Give it a try and DM me @hardwaypod and tell me what you think. I’d love to hear your feedback. Choose the Hard Way is the podcast about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. Humans like you. Please take a moment to rate this show five stars wherever you listen to podcasts and share this episode with a pal.

In This Episode:

Kristen Faulkner Instagram, Twitter

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Andrew Vontz LinkedIn

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Choose The Hard Way is a Palm Tree Pod Co. production