Clara Honsinger wins fourth elite US cyclocross title

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Clara Honsinger (Team S&M CX) shrugged off the early challenge from Katie Clouse (Steve Tilford Foundation) to cruise to her fourth elite US national championship title in Louisville, Kentucky.

Clouse leapt off the front from the gun, taking the hole shot and the early lead, forcing Honsinger to chase with Steve Tilford teammate Raylyn Nuss on her wheel, but first Nuss lost contact and then Clouse stumbled on the steps and lost touch with Honsinger.

From there on, it was just a matter of staying on the bike and powering to the finish, which Honsinger did with apparent ease, coming to the line with a 29-second advantage over Clouse.

Nuss came through 1:48 behind to seal the bronze medal.

"It's kind of like first year, then second and then third was a special number - trying to get that fourth - putting it together ... there was so much pressure going into this race," Honsinger said.

Honsinger won her first elite title in 2019, ending a 15-year winning streak by Katie Compton and since then has been the top American cyclocross racer.

After the championships were cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Honsinger won again in 2021 and 2022.

Honsinger told Cyclingnews in October that she has gone back to college to finish a degree, and had gone back to racing for her old club team. After racing the World Cup in Waterloo, she remained in the States, winning races in Ohio and Montana before taking second in the Pan American Championships behind Canadian Isabella Holmgren.

Her win came with some sadness, however, as Honsinger said, "My boyfriend's father passed on Wednesday and so I honestly haven't ridden my bike in like four days. I could barely get out and I just felt so exhausted. Even the thought of going to Nationals took a moment that kind of get my brain into it ... but I have such a fantastic team both at home and here and they really helped me get into the zone and be conscious of what was going on."

The 26-year-old will head to Europe and race through to the World Championships.

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