Rochette Beats the Heat and Bounces Back at Charm City Day 2
Rochette and Honsinger battle once again, while Clouse and Mani go for third podium spot
Every cyclocross racer comes into a race with a plan of what they want to do on a given day. For Maghalie Rochette on Sunday at Charm City Cross Day 2, the most important plan was not necessarily how she would deal with Clara Honsinger, it was how she would stay cool on the hot, sunny early October afternoon.
Rochette started hot on Saturday but then wilted in the mid-Atlantic heat midway through the race. Fortunately for her, she had a stay-cool plan in place for Day 2.
“Today I came prepared. I had ice socks, and water bottles on my bike and David was dumping water,” Rochette said. “All of these things helped me keep my body temperature low. Also, I didn't go gull gas from the gun. I was a little bit smarter with how I used my energy.”
Rochette still had the challenging task of out-racing Saturday’s winner Clara Honsinger in front of her, but at least step one of staying cool was taken care of.
Rochette v. Honsinger, Redux
Sunday’s course at Druid Hill Park featured a few changes from Saturday, including reversing the direction riders took through the off-camber at the far side of the course. However, they still had to make the long slog up to the feature, so the punchy racing of Saturday would not be any easier.
Caroline Mani started fast as she is wont to do and took the holeshot to lead the field out onto the course.
On Saturday, young Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld rider Katie Clouse hitched a ride with Honsinger, Rochette, and Mani and rode it as far as she could en route to a C1 podium finish. Perhaps a bit buoyed by her strong ride the day before, Clouse had no qualms about taking over the lead right before the off-camber in front of the mansion.
“I just kind of felt good on the top section,” Clouse said about the move. “I felt like I was riding the off-camber really well. So I just kind of wanted to get a feel for that. I kind of got a gap in the first lap, but I wasn't really trying to separate myself or anything.”
The early aggression from Clouse and Mani helped create a similar situation to Saturday, with Rochette, Honsinger, Clouse, and Mani off the front after the first of 6 laps. Crystal Anthony, Hannah Arensman, and Erica Zaveta followed close behind to take up the early chase.
In the second lap, it was Honsinger’s turn to up the pace. She started punching it up each of the steep climbs and earned a gap in the first half of the lap.
“I kept throwing attacks up those hills and looking back, and Maghalie was still there,” Honsinger explained. “I looked back and saw Katie Clouse behind me and thought I didn't need to ride hard because I didn't mind if she came up to us.”
Just as Honsinger kept a keen eye on Rochette’s wheel from the start on Saturday, Rochette was put in a similar situation as Honsinger dug deep making her attack.
“I knew I couldn't let her have a big gap,” Rochette said. “At first I wasn't too worried about it because I felt good and knew I could close it. But there was still Caroline and Katie between us, and I thought, well if I wait too long, she's going to get me.”
Rochette did make her move to catch Honsinger after the off-camber, while Mani fell off the pace. The lead group was quickly down to three heading into the second half of that 2nd lap.
Clouse held onto the pace of her teammate Honsinger and Rochette for half a lap, but at the end of two, the lead was again down to Rochette and Honsinger. With Rochette seemingly much more comfortable than on Saturday, it seemed like this duel between the North American jerseys might last a bit longer.
Behind the lead four riders, a good battle shaped up for 5th, with Arensman, Anthony, Rebecca Fahringer, and Raylyn Nuss riding near each other two laps in.
In the third lap, Honsinger and Rochette settled in and started feeling each other out, with neither rider making any separation.
Behind them, Mani turned up the heat on Clouse and caught her younger counterpart at the flyover. The riders were now marching two-by-two with the two Francophones battling against the two Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld riders.
While the officials have generally been good here in the U.S. about allowing the Elite Women to race for 50+ minutes, with the brutal heat, the officials mercifully decided on a 6-lap race. As such, the race was half over with Honsinger and Rochette still together.
In the 4th lap, Rochette took up the role of aggressor. She led Honsinger through the early part of the lap and then back off the off-camber toward the back half of the course.
Rochette’s decision to lead paid off when she hit an off-camber at the end of the lap in first position and Honsinger clipped a pedal behind her and slipped out. Rochette was close enough to hear the calamity and jumped on it.
“I had been following her for a few laps already, and I had noticed that at that corner, I could take it a little bit faster,” Rochette said. “When I got to that corner leading her, I thought that I'd do it quickly and see if I can get a small gap. I think she slipped out a little bit there, and I heard it, so with two to go, that was my chance.”
“She seized the opportunity and put in a really solid attack,” Honsinger recounted. “I was going full gas trying to get onto her, but it took a moment to regain my composure.”
Honsinger’s mistake gave Rochette an 8-second advantage with two laps to go. She continued pressing forward to cement her advantage.
Honsinger, meanwhile, was stuck in chase mode, struggling to chip away at Rochette’s lead.
Rochette carried a 14-second lead into the final lap and extended it further as her pre-race cooling measured paid huge dividends. Rochette scored the win and a little bit of redemption after Saturday’s meltdown.
“I totally got my butt kicked yesterday, so this feels good,” Rochette said. “It's good for the confidence heading into the World Cups because it might be hot again, so for me, that's confirmation for me that I can do well in the heat. To be honest, it was awesome to have that kind of race today after yesterday. I love to be challenged, that's why we compete.”
Honsinger held on for a strong 2nd. She now turns her head toward the first of three U.S. World Cups next Sunday in Waterloo.
“There's some pressure to do well, but mostly it's excitement,” she said about the races. “It's been two years since we've raced World Cups in the United States, and I want to come out and show them what it's all about. Hopefully a little bit of mud. Hopefully cooler temperatures. But really just some high-quality racing.”
Despite being pitted against each other for North American supremacy, Rochette and Honsinger both had laudatory words about each other.
“I think it's a little bit of Canada against the United States,” Honsinger said with a smile. “I mean, yes, it is competition on the course, but off the course, she's such a fantastic person. I really enjoy racing with her.”
“Clara is a world-class racer, and it's an honor for me to be able to battle against her. I think we're both getting from that,” Rochette said of her American counterpart.
The race for the third spot on the podium turned out to be a good one. After catching Clouse in the 3rd lap, Mani started exhorting the younger rider to do some work for her before finally moving into the lead in Lap 4.
“I knew what she was doing, but I was ok with working,” Clouse said. “This is the second weekend of the year, and I want to get some hard races in, so I was ok with doing some of the work. Once I saw Clara separated, I kind of cut that out.”
Despite doing some extra work to help Mani, Clouse was still feeling strong, and in the penultimate lap, she called on her 1st lap move at the off-camber and jumped on Mani at that spot again. This time, she was able to get that separation. “Raylyn was coming up fast again, and I wanted to separate myself again. I felt strong at the top, and I kind of made that separation and kept it within myself.”
Clouse held off Mani to take her second 3rd of the weekend. “I'm really happy with this weekend, so hopefully I can keep moving forward. It's really great training for Europe because those races are going to be exceptionally hard. I'm happy with how I am feeling. I want to keep moving forward.”
Mani finished 4th, her first race off the podium this young season. Raylyn Nuss was tops in the battle for 5th as she pulled away from her competitors in the chase group.