"Fierce" is the prediction by two-time US U23 women's cyclocross champion Katie Clouse about the competition she'll face in a few days to score a seventh consecutive podium at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. She earned the silver medal at the top level last year in Louisville, Kentucky and on Saturday she will be part of a star-studded field for another attempt at her first elite 'cross gold.
Clouse returns with her Steve Tilford Foundation Racing teammate Raylyn Nuss, who was third in 2023, for a strong one-two punch at Joe Creason Park. The gold medal, stars-and-stripes jersey and UCI points are up for grabs for a new winner, as five-time champion Clara Honsinger recently retired.
At just 23, Clouse has rarely, if ever, finished off the podium at US Nationals in any discipline. She has been riding off-road and road since she was 10 years old, winning 25 gold medals as a junior across mountain bike, road and cyclocross disciplines, plus 10 more as a U23 and collegiate rider. This season the Park City, Utah native had a strong 'cross season, finishing sixth or better in 14 US-based UCI races. She has targeted her first win of the season to be another gold at 'cross nationals.
"I am so excited to be heading to nationals and obviously, a win would be something so special, but overall just excited to be there healthy and happy," Clouse told Cyclingnews, noting that she missed a trip to the Dublin World Cup because of illness.
"We got in a solid two months of some constant racing with Pan-Ams being my last racing. The plan was to go to Dublin for myself but unfortunately, I ended up getting pretty sick the few days before and opted to miss it and stay home. Training has been great and I am feeling 100% again.
"With Vida [Lopez de San Roman] and Lizzy [Gunsalus] registering at the last minute, those young guns will bring some fierce competition."
The elite field has been spiced up with the addition of reigning U23 national 'cross champion Lizzy Gunsalus (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) and last year's junior women's champion Vida Lopez de San Roman (Bear CX National Team) expected to line up.
Gunsalus, a 21-year-old from Massachusetts, has a prolific history as a junior and is an U23 rider with three national titles across cyclocross and mountain biking plus nine podiums, including a collegiate silver on the road.
Lopez de San Roman, who turns 19 in January, made history in December 2023 winning the first-ever junior women's World Cup race for the US, taking the victory in Hulst. This year she focused on mountain biking, winning junior titles at the US and Pan-American championships, and finished fourth at the MTB World Championships, all in cross-country. In just two 'cross outings, she won both UCI C2 races at North Carolina Grand Prix in late November.
"Stoked to hear Vida is racing up - it's going to add some nice spice to the start line," Nuss, who owns and operates the Steve Tilford Foundation Racing team, told Cyclingnews.
Wild cards and wild weather
Among the wild cards expected in the mix at the front of the field are Natalie Quinn (CCB p/b Levine Law Group), veteran Crystal Anthony (Liv Racing) as well as a surprise entry from two-time US gravel champion Lauren Stephens.
Quinn was one spot off the elite women's podium last year in Louisville as a 21-year-old. This year she added more cyclocross races after her road season with EF-Oatly-Cannondale, where she won the U23 road title in 2023, going fourth at Pan American Championships in Montana and adding four other top 10s.
Anthony has not competed in cyclocross since the 2022-2023 season, transitioning to other off-road pursuits including the Life Time Grand Prix, where her best overall was eighth in 2023. Last month she was third at the epic Iceman Cometh mountain bike race in Michigan.
Stephens was a late entry but has the multi-discipline skills to pull off an upset. She is typically suited to road or gravel races several hours in length, so a 50-minute sprint at Joe Creason Park may not be an advantage.
Nuss knows Anthony especially well, as they have faced each other time and again at cyclocross races and gravel events. Nuss, 33 years old, won back-to-back Pan-Am championships for elite women in 2021 and 2022 and won the silver medal at CX Nationals in Hartford in 2022. She was on the podium last year in Louisville, improving 13 spots from the 2018 outing on a similar course.
"It's been a bit of an off-year for me and racing. Dealing with some gut issues I have never dealt with in the past, and still climbing out of the hole from last year - doing the Life Time Grand Prix and a full season of CX," Nuss said earlier this week.
"Each week I feel more confident in my prep for Nationals and really think I'm ready to give it a go! More than anything, winning the stars and stripes is my ultimate goal.
"I really like the Louisville course. Hoping for muddy and slippy conditions for sure to add to the drama - especially since we haven't had much mud in the US season this year."
Nuss' observations are spot on, as the majority of the UCI-sanctioned cyclocross races in the US this year have been dry and dusty. The forecast for Louisville this week calls for more of the same for the collegiate and masters races at Joe Creason Park on Thursday and Friday. Rain is expected on Saturday for the Junior 17-18, U23 and elite competitions, but is not expected to create the quagmire of mud that enveloped the entire park in 2018.
"I would absolutely love for it to rain for our race! Fingers crossed," Clouse added. "I think they do a good job at adding technical features as well as power features in the course."
No matter the outcome on Saturday, the Steve Tilford duo will fly to Europe from Louisville after racing this weekend and focus on a full schedule of World Cups, beginning straight away with a weekend at Hulst and Zonhoven.
"I'm particularly excited to see how Katie does getting back into the World Cup field. I think Katie's future and potential to be back at the top end of the sport is really motivating for me as the team owner and when I wear my team manager hat (as her teammate and friend as well). I'm eager to help do what it takes to get her there," Nuss said.
