Kristen Faulkner has confirmed the start of her season was delayed due to a concussion sustained in a crash while training last December and that she is now "fully recovered" and ready to begin her season with EF-Oatly-Cannondale at the revived women's Milan-San Remo on Saturday.
Faulkner said that while it has taken about three months to recover, her team was supportive during that time and there was no pressure placed on her to return to competition before she was healed.
“I’m finally feeling better, which is so nice. The recovery process was very up and down. I thought I was good and then I went to team camp and I had to leave team camp early," Faulkner said in an EF-Oatly-Cannondale press release.
"From the team’s standpoint, it was better just to make sure I was fully recovered and not put a timeline on it, not put pressure on me to perform at any upcoming race. Just be 100 percent healthy and ready by the time I get back. I felt like I was allowed to let my body heal on its own timeline which is really important.
"I appreciate that the team said, ‘No pressure. Let’s let your body do what it’s going to do and we’ll put you in racing when you’re healthy.’ So I didn’t have any stress or pressure to get back to racing right away.”
Faulkner is contracted to race with EF-Oatly-Cannondale through 2026. She had an exceptional season in 2024 where she won the elite women's road race title at the USA Cycling National Championships followed by two gold medals at the Olympic Games in the road race and team pursuit.
However, questions arose when Faulkner had not joined the team in the early races on the calendar and appeared to delay the start of her season.
Faulkner told Cyclingnews via email that she was initially supposed to start her season at Trofeo Ponente in Rosa in March but the event was then cancelled. EF-Oatly-Cannondale later confirmed her start at Milan-San Remo.
She said that a later start to the racing season could end up being beneficial to her goals for events later in the year.
“It means I’ll have a better second half of the season. Normally, I’d come in and have a good Classics campaign and this year I’m actually sitting out of the cobbled classics and focusing more on the Ardennes and the Vuelta," she said.
"So, Milan-San Remo will be a really good chance for me to get back in the peloton a little bit later than normal."
