There is little question this month was a September to Remember for Clara Honsinger (Team S&M CX).
The Oregonian came into the 2019 domestic season flying, finishing second in the C1 at Rochester Cyclocross and then repeating the feat a day later. A week later at the Jingle Cross World Cup, she joined the lead trio and took third for her first Elite World Cup podium.
In Waterloo, her success continued. In Friday’s C2, she took second behind a high-flying Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing CX) to add another podium to her early-season haul. In the process, she has jumped from 26 to 15 in the UCI rankings and is now the second-highest ranked U.S. rider behind Kaitie Keough (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld).
Those results were all prelude to the toughest test of the young season. When the rains turned the World Cup Waterloo course into a mix of mud, puddles and slop, the true cyclocross test was on.
Clara Honsinger and Maghalie Rochette battled for top five spots. 2019 World Cup Waterloo, Elite Women. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Honsinger again acquitted herself quite well on Sunday. She got off to a good start and moved up into third position early in the race. She stayed there until the last lap when a hard-charging Neff passed her and then Evie Richards (Trek Factory Racing CX) to eventually take silver.
Although not a podium, a fourth-place in those conditions for Honsinger shone through the mud caking her Team S&M CX kit.
We briefly chatted with Honsinger about her race, her experience in the mud and her season thus far. You can listen in the video below.
Featured image: Dave Mable
