The Elite Women took to a softening, heavy Cantigny Park course as the fifth UCI race at Sunday’s the 2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships.
2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Elite Women
In the first Cyclocross Nationals in the post-Katie Compton era, there was only one favorite for the Elite Women’s race: Defending champ Clara Honsinger.
Honsinger, fresh from a stunning European campaign, came to Illinois as one of the top racers in the world, and unrivalved in the U.S.
The notoriously slow starter only needed to avoid other riders, a crash or a mechanical to defend her title. Just a few turns into the first lap, she showed she would not play around with the other riders.
Honsinger was first to clear the sandpit of the man-made cyclocross beach, and had smooth sailing to the rough muddy seas of Cantigny Park in DuPage County. After one lap, Honsinger had 20 seconds in hand.
The only suspense remained was who would take the final medals.
A Race for Next Best
Raylyn Nuss, fresh off her Pan Ams win a week ago, wasn’t about to lay down and give up on her desire for another championship jersey. Nuss led the chase, with Hannah Arensman, Caitlin Bernstein and new singlespeed champ Sunny Gilbert close behind.
Nuss looked for help coming down the windy finishing straight, but had none, and set off in solo pursuit of Honsinger. While her race for silver looked promising, her chase for gold was in vain.
Honsinger’s 20-second lead ballooned into minutes, and was 2:23 over Nuss with one lap to go.
Behind the lead two, Gilbert used her running skills to chase down Arensman.
Anna Megale closed for fifth with 2021 Masters Women 35-39 Champion Taylor Kuyk-White having a solid second race, finishing sixth in the Elites.
Honsinger raced in her National Championship jersey, and will retain it for another year:
Full results below. Stay tuned for more coverage.
Featured photo: 2021 Overijse, B. Hazen
2021 USA Cyclocross National Championships Results: Elite Women
| Rank | Bib | Name | Affiliation | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Clara HONSINGER | Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 47:42:00 | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | Raylyn NUSS | Steve Tilford Foundation Racing | 50:58:00 | 4 |
| 3 | 7 | Sunny GILBERT | Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build | 51:05:00 | 4 |
| 4 | 6 | Hannah ARENSMAN | Sycamore Cycles | 51:07:00 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Anna MEGALE | Trek Cyclocross Collective | 52:53:00 | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | Taylor KUYK-WHITE | RSCX - HOUSE INDUSTRIES | 52:58:00 | 4 |
| 7 | 4 | Caitlin BERNSTEIN | Easton Overland / MCGOVERN CYCLES | 53:45:00 | 4 |
| 8 | 3 | Erica ZAVETA | The Pony Shop p/b KPMG | 54:03:00 | 4 |
| 9 | 9 | Emily WERNER | Emmys Sweets pb Kens Bike Shop | 54:27:00 | 4 |
| 10 | 11 | Austin KILLIPS | Pratt Racing | 54:56:00 | 4 |
| 11 | 20 | Traci JUDGE | 55:17:00 | 4 | |
| 12 | 12 | Jennifer MALIK | Paradise Garage Racing p/b Smanie | 55:39:00 | 4 |
| 13 | 32 | Emily SCHALDACH | BitchNGrit: Firefly, TenSpeed Hero | 55:42:00 | 4 |
| 14 | 15 | Sophie RUSSENBERGER | Team S&M CX | 55:48:00 | 4 |
| 15 | 8 | Crystal ANTHONY | Liv Racing Collective | 56:10:00 | 4 |
| 16 | 16 | Anne USHER | Fast Fun Nice p/b Wattie Ink | 56:40:00 | 4 |
| 17 | 17 | Amelia SHEA | 58:00:00 | 4 | |
| 18 | 21 | Brenna WRYE-SIMPSON | Team S&M CX | 58:17:00 | 4 |
| 19 | 34 | Jenna LINGWOOD | Point S Auto p/b Nokian Tyres | 58:30:00 | 4 |
| 20 | 13 | Rebecca GROSS | Zero D Racing | 58:36:00 | 4 |
| 21 | 31 | Sarah STURM | Specialized/Rapha/Sram | 58:40:00 | 4 |
| 22 | 35 | Caitlin NEUMAN | 59:16:00 | 4 | |
| 23 | 22 | Rachel RUBINO | Pratt Racing | 59:17:00 | 4 |
| 24 | 19 | Rachel GEITER | Team Walla Walla | 59:24:00 | 4 |
| 25 | 39 | Britt MASON | Knobby by Nature | 59:46:00 | 4 |
| 26 | 37 | Brooke LYMAN | Duke University | 1:00:18 | 4 |
| 27 | 14 | Anna DOROVSKIKH | Orion Racing | 1:00:35 | 4 |
| 28 | 18 | Erin FELDHAUSEN | Trek Cyclocross Collective | 1:01:38 | 4 |
| 29 | 38 | Molly CLARK-OIEN | Parallel 44 Racing p/b Sanford POWER | 1:01:43 | 4 |
| 30 | 36 | Clementine NIXON | RSCX- HOUSE INDUSTRIES | 1:05:01 | 4 |
| 31 | 44 | Laura ALAGNA | The pony Shop p.b. KPMG | 31:36:00 | 2 |
| 32 | 40 | Elizabeth SHELDON | CXHAIRS DEVO : TREK BIKES | 33:14:00 | 2 |
| 33 | 42 | Tori GLASCOCK | Team EPS p/b Brielle Cyclery | 36:27:00 | 2 |
| 34 | 33 | Danielle POWER | Corner Cycle | 36:49:00 | 2 |
| 35 | 41 | Ivy AUDRAIN | Hand Up X The Black Bibs X Squid Bikes | 39:29:00 | 2 |
| 36 | 43 | Purshall ARTISON | A Dugast USA | 43:49:00 | 2 |
Win a CycloPrecisian custom-built frame, Reserve carbon wheels, a Marin Bobcat Trail 5 mountain bike and much more while helping a nonprofit provide transportation to those in need. Check out BikeX.org’s silent auction fundraiser.
See the course preview videos from Cantigny Park, DuPage County, Illinois here.
Visit our dedicated 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals page for all of our 2021 National Championships coverage.
