From Harvard to venture capital to double Olympic Gold, Kristen Faulkner’s path has been anything but conventional. But one thing is a constant – her rigorous pursuit of excellence.

Before she became a cyclist, the double Olympic gold medalist and back-to-back US road race champion earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science at Harvard, where she competed on the university rowing team. She finished second in the world junior rowing championships, before moving to New York City to pursue her career with a venture capital firm.

She missed team sports, so she went to a women’s introductory cycling clinic in Central Park. She enjoyed that enough to do a race and once she experienced how much strategy and tactical thinking cycling required, she knew it was the sport for her.

The 33-year-old has always dreamed big. Ever since she was a little girl, Kristen wanted to compete in the Olympic Games.

Her childhood in Homer, Alaska helped her develop a sense of resiliency. Kristen’s parents run a restaurant and hotel in her hometown and she has been always inspired by their work ethic. That work ethic, combined with her Olympic dream, inspired her to take up a new discipline, the team pursuit in track cycling in 2024, alongside road racing.

She sees bike racing as a game of chess, where strategy, patience, and anticipating a competitor’s move make the sport demanding and thrilling. On the streets of Paris, she rode a smart, tactical race, biding her time on the circuit up and around Montmartre, before making a big effort to close to the leaders with just over three kilometers to go. Knowing that her rivals at the front of the race might hesitate in the hope that the other would chase, Kristen attacked and rode solo to the finish under the Eiffel Tower to win her first Olympic gold medal.

With hard work and intelligence, she had made her childhood dream come true. She celebrated with her family and then turned her attention back to the track and her pursuit of excellence. A few days later, Kristen won her second Olympic gold medal with her teammates in the team pursuit.

Since joining EF Education-Oatly, Kristen has earned wins at Omloop van het Hageland, two stages at Trofeo Ponente in Rosa where she also claimed the points and mountains jerseys, a stage at the Vuelta España Femenina, and the US road race national championship two years in a row. Her 2025 season was cut short due to a shoulder injury which only means Kristen is that much more excited for the 2026 season.

At her European base in Girona, Spain, Kristen likes to grocery shop at the local farmers markets, letting fresh produce inspire her in the kitchen. She loves creating healthy, vegetable-based dishes. A lifelong learner, she always has a couple of books on the go and you’ll usually find her reading on the transfers between stages.

Alice joins EF Education-Oatly this year with five seasons of pro racing already to her name. She enjoys seeing the progress in her racing and training day after day, year after year as she works toward her goals. This year, Alice wants to start gaining experience as a leader in select races and to see what kind of a racer she becomes. She loves a hard day of attritional racing, even more so if it is in the Ardennes.

Life as a bike racer has taught Alice that race programs and tactics can change in an instant, so she’s learned to be flexible in order to adapt to the situation.

Because fueling is so important as an athlete, Alice likes to have fun preparing her meals and loves to get creative in the kitchen. She enjoys preparing tasty meals and ride food, but her current project is mastering the traditional Sunday roast dinner.

Alexis’ heart beats for racing. This year marks her 12th season as a professional racer and in that time, she has won Drentse Acht van Westerveld and podiumed at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and Ronde van Drenthe. The American loves the spring classics in particular.

In her first season with EF Education-Oatly, Alexis plans to put her years of experience to work both as a road captain and as a mentor to her teammates. From victories to burnout, injuries to comebacks, Alexis has seen it all and she’s eager to help guide her teammates toward long and healthy careers.

When Alexis is stateside, she’s either playing with her two dogs, snuggling her cat, or taking care of her garden.

It’s hard to pin Cédrine down. She is from France but often trains in Andorra, though she spends a lot of time traveling around Europe in her van in search of adventure (surfing in Portugal is one of her favorites). She prefers spontaneity to plans. You’re more likely to find Cédrine out on the dance floor than going to bed early. She is a dreamer, but she also takes action.

In her first year on the squad, Cédrine made an undeniable impact. She finished in an impressive eighth place at the Tour de France Femmes. After strategically moving up on the GC in the opening days, an ill-timed crash on the final stage meant the overall podium slipped out of her grasp but Cédrine continued to race with all of her heart right up to the finish line. Cédrine won the French time trial national championship, taking her first elite title. She finished in fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and on the overall classification at the Vuelta a España, narrowly missing out on the podium in both races.

Cédrine is a natural leader and is equally happy to be the team’s designated leader or to support her teammates. Her confidence and race savvy make her an ideal teammate.

Cédrine is very close with her family and loves to spend time with them. Lucky for her, they started a fan club and often travel around Europe to watch her race. Keep your eyes peeled for a group of fun-loving fans singing and dancing in yellow t-shirts.

When the day comes that Cédrine retires from cycling, look for her tending a flock of sheep somewhere deep in the mountains.

Family bike rides turned into something more dedicated when Babette’s older sister joined a local cycling club as a teenager. Wanting to emulate her sibling, Babette began to take cycling more seriously. The pair often trained together, encouraging each other to grow and improve.

Now in her fourth season as a pro, Babette continues to grow and develop as a rider. Last season she sprinted her way to top five finishes on stages at the Tour of Britain and the Giro d’Italia and was a valuable teammate to help Noemi win the Tour Down Under.

Growing up in the Netherlands, Babette quickly learned to love headwinds and harsh weather. Today, she is happiest racing when the conditions are tough and the day includes cobbles or punchy hills. Naturally, she loves the spring classics.

Babette is currently studying in an online medical science course. She enjoys how studying forces her to take a break from cycling. Another passion of hers is cooking. Babette’s specialty is homemade gnocchi. When you hear Dutch dance music blasting from the team bus ahead of a race, you know it’s Babette’s turn to DJ.

Henrietta fell in love with the sound of cycling. She heard the distinct sound of cleats walking on concrete and knew this was the sport for her. She then convinced her parents to let her take up the sport and the rest is history. She quickly discovered she was a powerful rider who excelled on climbs.

She knew she would have to leave New Zealand for Europe if she wanted to become a pro and she knew this would be expensive. To save money, she baked and decorated gourmet homemade cakes and sold them locally.

Her hard work – both on the bike and in the kitchen – soon paid off. Last season she was third at the Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar. She has won the best young rider competition at the Tour Down Under and the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche. Her top ten GC results include the Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucía, and the Clasica de Almeria. She is a former junior and under-23 time trial national champion.

Henrietta returns for her second season with EF Education-Oatly and she has quickly become an essential teammate. In 2025, Henrietta’s support was vital in Noemi’s stage and GC wins at Tour Down Under, as well as in Kim’s win in the New Zealand road race national championship.

On the team bus or at home, when Henrietta has spare time you’ll find her dreaming up new recipes and cake designs, working on embroidery, and planning get-togethers with her friends. She loves to express her creativity through arts and crafts.