Milano-Sanremo: Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner sees 'light at the end of the tunnel' after concussion issues

Kristen Faulkner will be starting her season at this weekend’s Milano-Sanremo, after the American was forced to delay her 2025 campaign thanks to a bout of concussion. The Olympic road race champion is raring to get going for EF-Oatly-Cannondale, as the women get set to compete in Milano-Sanremo for the first time since 2005, in what promises to be a stacked peloton.

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Kristen Faulkner says the upcoming Milano-Sanremo represents "light at the end of the tunnel" in her bid to get back racing following concussion.

This year sees a women’s edition of the famous Monument, albeit starting in Genoa.

But the finish is the same as the men's race, and with such a strong field, there is plenty of excitement leading into La Primavera.

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Not least for Olympic road race champion Faulkner, who has yet to compete this season after suffering a concussion in a training crash last December.

Faulkner had a brilliant season last year, and believes her late start will not hamper her chances of more success in 2025.

"I’m finally feeling better, which is so nice. The recovery process was very up and down," Faulkner said in a press release.

"I thought I was good and then I went to team camp and I had to leave team camp early. 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% healthy and ready by the time I get back."

Faulkner will not be leading the team’s charge in northern Italy, but instead riding in support of Noemi Ruegg.

But with the race new on the calendar, no one quite knows what to expect - not least the riders themselves.

"It’s a race I’ve really wanted to do since I heard it was going to happen this year. It’s just really exciting to be at Milano-Sanremo and be a part of the revived women’s edition," Faulkner added.

"In my cycling career, I came into the sport at a really interesting time because there have been a lot of firsts: the first Paris-Roubaix, the first modern Tour de France, the first modern Milano-Sanremo.

"Every year there’s some new race added to the calendar and it’s really exciting to be a woman in cycling because of that.

"I find I’m more motivated and more focused when I have a clear goal and so just having this on the calendar since last year and having it as a goal, regardless of my role, has been something that has been the light at the end of the tunnel from my concussion."

Kopecky gets set to start her season

This weekend’s race should see a resumption of some of the spellbinding rivalries at the front of the women’s peloton, with Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky, Marianne Vos, Elisa Longo Borghini and Lorena Wiebes all listed to compete.

Vollering has stolen a march on the peloton with her victory at Strade Bianche, but Kopeky is making her season debut this weekend - and is excited to race somewhere new.

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"It's definitely fun. In a way, I think it's a shame that the number of kilometres isn't that long," Kopecky said of the new race.

"The final will probably be the same, but I also hope that the number of kilometres will do its job. Then the race would have the same character as the men's. As far as I'm concerned, that race could be 200 kilometres. Then the difference on the Poggio would be made easier."

Kopecky is aware that a new era is starting at SD Worx-Protime, one without Vollering, who moved to FDJ-Suez in the winter.

SD-Worx have been the dominant force in the peloton, and have regrouped by signing the out-of-retirement Anna van der Breggen, who certainly showed she still has plenty of pace in Strade Bianche.

"I think it could be a really good year for women's cycling. The quality is much more evenly distributed across all the teams, and that's going to result in some really great races," Kopecky added.

"In a way, it was nice that we were the dominant team of course, but for the bigger picture, this is better."

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