The new Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner has been confirmed to race in the upcoming Tour de France Femmes, which begins in Rotterdam on Monday. EF-Oatly-Cannondale announced their team of seven riders on Wednesday, naming fellow Olympians Alison Jackson, Noemi Rüegg, and Kim Cadzow along with Lotta Henttala, Magdeleine Vallieres and Clara Edmond.
Faulkner will compete in the women's Team Pursuit on Wednesday as her final event of the Paris Olympics before returning her focus to her pro road team, which gained entry to the Tour de France Femmes as a wild card team this year.
"The Olympic road race showed me that my form is really good, perhaps the best it's ever been," Faulkner said in the press release.
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"I'm excited to take that into the Tour de France Femmes and try to win some stages. I've won stages at the Vuelta and Giro, so the Tour is one I still want to cross off the list. I'm also excited to support my teammates. I have been so focused on track and Olympic preparations that I haven't raced with my EF-Oatly-Cannondale teammates since June. I'm so excited to reunite with them. It's been too long."
Faulkner has had bad luck with the Tour de France Femmes, suffering two crashes in the opening stages in 2022 and not being able to race in 2023 after suffering a knee injury after being hit by a driver just weeks before the Tour.
Cadzow, 22, has had a strong season, placing in the top 10 overall at the Tour de Suisse and Vuelta a España Femenina as well as winning the UCI 2.2 Trofeo Ponente in Rosa in March.
"My goal is to get stuck into the racing," Cadzow said. "I want to enjoy the experience and support the team as best as possible. I expect the team to produce some stellar performances. I'm looking forward to getting to see what the atmosphere at the Tour is like! It's a pinnacle cycling event so how can one not be a bit excited."
Because of the Olympics, the Tour de France Femmes begins with three stages in the Netherlands including a short 6.3km individual time trial on stage 3 before moving on to Belgium for a finish in Liège.
Vallieres will be racing the Tour for the third time and is looking forward to that fourth stage.
"It really suits our team super well. It's a bit similar to Liège-Bastonge-Liège where we did quite well with Kim in the breakaway. I think this squad is super strong. We have a lot of riders who can do well on this stage."
The race finally reaches France on stage 5 before three of the most difficult stages in Tour de France Femmes history including the massive climb of Le Grand Bornand on stage 7 and the grand finale on l'Alpe d'Huez on the final day.
"If we come together as a team, we can really achieve something great, not just on this stage but on most stages. It will be super special to have the last stage on Alpe d'Huez, on such a special and mythical climb. It's going to be a special Tour," Vallieres said.
"We’re looking for stage wins. I can’t wait to check Alpe d’Huez off the bucket list," said Jackson, who makes her second appearance at the Grand Tour.
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