Honsinger wins day 1 at US Open of Cyclocross

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Clara Honsinger (Team S&M CX) took the elite women's win on the opening day of the US Open of Cyclocross Saturday in Colorado.

Sofia Gomez Villafane (Pivot Maxxis pb Stan's DNA Cycling) set the early pace in the Elite Women’s C2 race on Saturday. She was aiming for her second podium of the ProCX season, having won third at the C1 RenoCross event in Nevada in September. Among the 36 riders in field who took off with Villafane early were 17-year-old Katie Clouse (Alpha Bicycle Co.- Groove Subaru), Sunny Gilbert (Van Dessel Factory Team), Sarah Sturm (Specialized/ Ten Speed Hero), and 21-year-old Honsinger.

The first lap had not been completed and there was a big crash in the field, taking out Caroline Mani (Van Dessel Factory Team), who is fifth overall in ProCX standings for women. She would not finish the race. At the front of the race, Villafane maintained a slim three-second edge over Honsinger. Gilbert had dropped back another 10 seconds and Clouse was holding fourth position.

It was on lap four of seven that Honsinger started to create distance at the front. With one lap to go she had a built her lead to 26 seconds. In the end, she crossed solo at the finish for the win in a time of 46:19 for a 34-second margin of victory over Gilbert.

“Oh man, it was hot,” said Honsinger about the sunshine making the 65-degree day seem warmer than usual for fall. “It’s higher elevation, and at the end of a long block (of racing). Coming from the gun, I was just trying to monitor the effort. But it paid off.”

Villafane battled with Gilbert for the podium, but with two to go she faded to third, and finished 12 seconds behind Gilbert. Clouse would follow 13 seconds later for a solid fourth place finish.

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