Clara Honsinger’s first memory of cycling dates back to when she was a child at a local bike-swap with her mother. “I remember jumping on the seat and just pedaling off without any hesitation. I was immediately hooked on bikes!” Clara says.

In the years that followed, Clara began exploring the trails of her native Ashland, Oregon on two wheels. She found racing – muddy, gritty, racing – when a high school teacher introduced her to cyclocross. In December of 2022, Clara won her third consecutive US cyclocross national championship, earning her the privilege of wearing the stars and stripes cyclocross jersey for another year.

In the 2022-2023 cyclocross season, Clara got off to a thrilling start by winning her first race of the season. She made a clean sweep of the back-to-back races in Nommay and has more often than not earned a top ten finish.

Given Clara’s love of racing in harsh conditions, it’s no surprise that on the road she adores the spring classics. At the 2022 Tour of Flanders, she was the last rider standing from the break after spending over 100 kilometers at the front of the race.

Clara likes working on bikes almost as much as she likes riding them. She has worked as a mechanic in a bike store in Oregon and loves talking shop with the mechanics that take care of her bikes.