Ladies Tour of Norway stage winner Kristen Faulkner has signed a two-year contract with Team BikeExchange, the Australian WorldTeam announced on Monday.
The 28-year-old turned professional with Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank at the start of the 2020 season only to have her budding career interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once racing resumed, she claimed her first professional victory on stage 4 of the Tour Feminin l'Ardèche. This year, Faulkner won the opening stage of the Tour of Norway and finished third overall before landing on the podium at the GP de Plouay.
"Team BikeExchange has a lot of resources that will benefit me as I look to take my cycling career to the next level, and I look forward to joining a larger team where I can grow as a rider and as a leader," Faulkner said.
"At this stage in my career, my goal is to improve as quickly as possible and to have fun."
BikeExchange had been in talks with Premier Tech to help bolster the men's and women's WorldTeam programmes but negotiations fell through. Team owner Gerry Ryan will continue to support the teams in 2022, with his Jayco company joining BikeExchange as a title sponsor.
Faulkner arrives at the team as Sarah Roy departs for Canyon-SRAM, Grace Brown moves to FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope, Jessica Roberts leaves for Team Coop-Hitec, and Lucy Kennedy and Janneke Ensign retire. So far only Amanda Spratt, Arianna Fidanza and Teniel Campbell have been announced as continuing with the team.
"With new riders coming on board in 2022, the team is undergoing a lot of positive changes for next season. I'm looking forward to targeting some of the Spring Classics such as Flanders and Liege, as well as some of the summer stage races," Faulkner said.
General manager Brent Copeland welcomed Faulkner to the team, saying: "With Kristen coming to join GreenEDGE Cycling, we believe we have found a very intelligent and talented rider that will fit very well into our team. She started to ride a bike quite late in her life, and her results give us lots of hope for her future as she has progressed very quickly.
"She is a strong rider and with her great determination we believe she can be a very valuable addition to the squad. She will of course need some time to adapt to the team, but we are excited to see how she can develop over the coming years."
