At the Paris Olympics, Kristen Faulkner became the first American to take home the cycling road race gold medal in 40 years. She also scored a second gold for Team USA in the team pursuit.

“I knew she had that in her,” Tara Parsons, vice president of Rider Development, said.

What You Need To Know

  • Kristen Faulkner, who got her start taking a cycling class at Central Park, won the gold medal for road race and team pursuit

  • Century Road Cycling Club, the nonprofit group Faulkner started with, held a session in Central Park Thursday

  • She rides around 50 miles a day

  • Tara Parsons, vice president of Rider Development, said Faulkner is "so amazing"

Faulkner got her start just six years ago here with the Century Road Club Association (CRCA).

“She is so amazing. She is so smart, strategic, and, you know, has so much heart,” Parsons, who was her coach, said. “She had so much joy to try this new thing, and she did great. She got on one of the CRCA sub teams.”

Parsons trained a beginner racing team at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. Some of the cyclists there recalled biking with Faulkner at the beginning of her career.

“She would go out with the fast group and ride 100 miles every day and we were all kind of like, ‘how is she doing that?’ and now know how she is doing it because she is an Olympian,” cyclist and communications director Jennifer Poirier said.

Parsons said positioning is something Faulkner prioritized to secure the gold.

“The roads were tight. She positioned herself in a spot where she knew where she could be in the front,” Parsons said.

It's a strategy taken to the Olympics that started in Central Park.

“It’s really so great to see someone who started here take it to the highest level,” Parsons said.