Clara Honsinger and Eric Brunner highlight 38-person Team USA roster for cyclocross worlds

Recently crowned U.S. national champions Clara Honsinger (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Eric Brunner (Blue-Stages Racing) will lead Team USA at the 2022 UCI World Cyclocross Championships, January 29-30, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The United States will send 38 riders to the first cyclocross world championship race held on home soil since 2013, when it was in Louisville, Kentucky.

Also read: Lucinda Brand, Marianne Vos headline Dutch CX worlds team without Mathieu van der Poel

“Having a world championships in the USA is always a major honor, and we are proud to be fielding a full team of dedicated, skilled athletes who will compete at Fayetteville 2022,” said USA Cycling cyclocross director Jesse Anthony.

Many of the riders who will race worlds are just back from a three-week block of training and racing in Europe.

“We are coming to the event well-prepared after several podium performances achieved during the holiday period of racing in Belgium,” said Anthony. “The MudFund-supported USA Cycling Development Program recently competed in three weeks of racing for the junior and U23 racers. Many elite riders were also competing with their trade teams ahead of this monumental event. All of the riders are extremely motivated to put on a show for the home crowds in Fayetteville!”

Honsinger is ranked sixth in the UCI World Cup standings. She will be joined on the start line by compatriots Hannah Arensman (Sycamore Cycles), Caitlin Bernstein (Easton Overland-McGovern Cycles), Rebecca Fahringer (Kona-Maxxis-Shimano), Anna Megale (Trek Cyclocross Collective), Raylyn Nuss (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing) and Erica Zaveta (The Pony Shop-KPMG).

The American women will line up against strong squads from The Netherlands and Belgium.

Sanne Cant (IKO–Crelan), a three-time world champion, was confirmed on the Belgian squad start list.

Over the first weekend in January, seven-time world champion Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) beat compatriot and current world champion Lucinda Brand (Trek-Baloise Lions) at the Dutch national championships. Both had already been named to the Dutch squad that also includes podium contenders Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal), Annemarie Worst (777), and former world champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Alpecin).

On the men’s side, Team USA will have hopes set on Brunner, Gage Hecht (Aveolo), Kerry Werner (Kona-Maxxis-Shimano) and Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com). Despite perhaps being better known as part of the criterium-dominant L39ion of Los Angeles, Lance Haidet is no stranger to cyclocross, having won the U23 national championships in 2017. Also racing for the Americans are Scott McGill (Aevolo) and Caleb Swartz (Giant-Neff Cycle Service).

The American men will be scrapping for top finishes before a “hometown crowd” that will not see the likes of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) or Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), who have seven world titles between them and have both decided to skip this worlds and the travel involved to focus on their road-season preparation.

Team USA roster for the 2022 UCI World Cyclocross Championships

Elite women
Hannah Arensman (Brevard, NC; Sycamore Cycles)
Caitlin Bernstein (Reno, NV; Easton Overland / McGovern Cycles)
Rebecca Fahringer (Bend, OR; Kona/ Maxxis/ Shimano)
Clara Honsinger (Portland, OR; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)
Anna Megale (Boise, ID; Trek Cyclocross Collective)
Raylyn Nuss (Lawrence, KS; Steve Tilford Foundation Racing)
Erica Zaveta (Brevard, NC; The Pony Shop p/b KPMG)

U23 women
Katie Clouse (Park City, UT; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)
Lizzy Gunsalus (Dudley, MA; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)
Cassidy Hickey (Parker, CO)
Ellie Mitchell (Anchorage, AK; NWCX Project)
Madigan Munro (Boulder, CO; Trek Factory Racing)
Bridget Tooley (Frisco, TX; Easton-Liv)
Lauren Zoerner (Highlands Ranch, CO; Alpha Bicycles Co-Groove Subaru)

Junior women
Mia Aseltine (Littleton, CO; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com Devo)
Keira Bond (Louisville, CO; Boulder Junior Cycling)
Chloe Fraser (Boulder, CO; Boulder Junior Cycling)
Katherine Sarkisov (North Potomac, MD; CX Hairs Devo/ Trek Bikes)
Elsa Westenfelder (Missoula, MT; Team Stampede/ Five Valley Velo)

Elite men
Eric Brunner (Boulder, CO; Blue-Stages Racing)
Gage Hecht (Parker, CO; Aevolo)
Lance Haidet (San Luis Obispo, CA; L39ion of Los Angeles)
Scott McGill (Fallston, MD; Aevolo)
Caleb Swartz (Madison, WI; Giant Bicycles/ Neff Cycle Service)
Kerry Werner (Vinton, VA; Kona/ Maxxis/ Shimano)
Curtis White (Delanson, NY; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com)

U23 men
Scott Funston (Maple Valley, WA.; Blue-Stages Racing)
Daxton Mock (Lake Mills, WI; Trek Cyclocross Collective)
Sam Noel (Shelburne, VT; Competitive Edge Racing)
Tommy Servetas (Loudonville, NY; Competitive Edge Racing)
Andrew Strohmeyer (Mount Airy, MD; CX Hairs Devo/ Trek Bikes)
Jules Van Kempen (Chapel Hill, NC; Alpha Bicycles Co. – Groove Subaru)

Junior men
Andrew August (Pittsford, NY; Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com Devo)
Daniel English (San Ramon, CA; Voler/Easton/HRS/Rock Lobster p/b Joseph Kochlacs Wood Products)
Frank O’Reilly (Pearl River, NY; FinKraft Cycling Team)
Marcis Shelton (Mill Valley, CA)
Jack Spranger (Sammamish, WA; Bear National Team)
Magnus White (Boulder, CO; Boulder Junior Cycling)