Today’s guest is the Alaska raised, Harvard graduate and professional bike racer, Kristen Faulkner. Like so many of our guests, she has a unique and remarkable story. Kristen entered her first professional race in Europe in 2020 and her meteoric rise in the fast and furious sport of road cycling shot her into the woman's world tour in a spectacular fashion. But before she became one of the fastest women in the pro peloton, racing the biggest road races in the world, she worked in the Silicon Valley as an investment associate and venture capitalist.  In 2017, Kristen (a life-long athlete and collegiate rower) discovered the bike in New York City and immediately fell in love. One year after joining the pro peloton, she finished the Tour de Flanders with a top 10—just weeks after quitting her full-time day job. Kristen's racing highlights include strong results at the biggest road races in the world and she’s certainly a rider to watch (and cheer on) at this year’s Tour de France Femmes. Kristen’s racing resume includes two stage wins and the Queen of the Mountain jersey at the Giro d’Italia Donne (including an opening Time Trial win to put her in the maglia rosa-the pink leaders jersey), a 2nd overall finish at the Tour de Suisse, a 3rd place overall finish at the inaugural Itzulia and more recently, an audacious ride at the Strade Bianchi where she went off the front and led the race solo until the end, taking 3rd overall that day.  But like all guests on The Bounce Forward Podcast, Kristen is much more than an athlete and bike racer. She’s thoughtful, articulate and pragmatic, with a no-nonsense knack for sharing her inspiring story. In this episode we discuss her bold decision to pursue her passion—leaving her day-job to race bikes professionally overseas, her approach to training and building fitness and how she’s developed her technical skills, along with her analytical and tactical method to preparing for a big stage race.  One conversation with Kristen and it’s clear that this is a mentally tough, self-aware and courageous human that will continue to bounce forward with a determined, gritty and a pensive mindset.