“Fierce” is the prediction of two-time US U23 women's cyclocross champion Katie Cruz about the competition she faces in the coming days to earn her seventh consecutive podium finish at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. She won a silver medal last year at the top level in Louisville, Kentucky, and will be among the stars on Saturday for a repeat attempt at her first elite cross gold medal.

Krause and his Steve Tilford Foundation Racing teammate, Raylin Nath, who finished third in 2023, will have a strong one-two punch at Joe Creason Park. gold medal after the retirement of five-time champion Clara Honzinger, Stars and Stripes jersey, and UCI points will go to a new winner.

At just 23 years old, Klaus has rarely been off the podium at a national championships in any event. She has been riding off-road and road since she was 10 years old, winning 25 gold medals in mountain bike, road, and cyclocross events as a junior, and another 10 as a U23 and collegiate athlete. This season, the Park City, Utah, native had a strong cross season, finishing sixth or better in 14 U.S.-based UCI races. Her first win of the season was a gold medal at the U.S. National Cross.

“I'm very excited to be heading to the Nationals and obviously the win will be special,” she said.

“The Pan Games was my last race and I raced consistently for two months. I had planned to go to Dublin for myself but unfortunately I got sick a few days ago and decided to sit out and stay home. The training was great and I am 100% back in shape. With [Vida [Lopez de San Roman] and Lizzie [Ganzalas] signing up at the last minute, the youngsters will give us some fierce competition.”

The elite field was spiced up with the addition of U23 national cross champion Lizzie Gansalas (CCB p/b Levine Law Group) and last year's junior girls champion Vida Lopez de San Roman (Bear CX National Team).

A 21-year-old from Massachusetts, Gansalas has had a prolific junior career, winning three national titles in cyclocross and mountain biking as a U23 rider, plus nine podium finishes, including a collegiate silver medal on the road.

Lopez de San Roman, who turns 19 in January, made history by becoming the first American to win the Junior Women's World Cup race in Hulst in December 2023. This year she focused on mountain biking, winning junior titles at the U.S. and Pan American Championships, finishing fourth at the MTB World Championships, and winning the UCI C2 race at the North Carolina Grand Prix in late November in just her second cross-country race.

“I'm very happy,” Nass, who runs the Steve Tilford Foundation Racing team, told Cycling News.

Among the leading contenders are Natalie Quinn (CCB p/b Levin Law Group), veteran Crystal Anthony (Liv Racing), and surprise entry Lauren Stevens, two-time US gravel champion.

Quinn was one off the elite women's podium at age 21 in Louisville last year, and after a road season with EF-Oatly-Cannondale, where she won the U23 road title in 2023, she added more cyclocross racing this year, taking the Pan American Championships, where he finished fourth, and four other top-10 finishes.

Anthony has not competed in cyclocross since the 2022-2023 season, moving to off-road, including the Lifetime Grand Prix. Last month he finished third in the Iceman Cometh, an epic mountain bike race in Michigan.

Stephens was a late entry, but has the multiple skills to pull off an upset. She is usually better suited to road and gravel races that last several hours, so a 50-minute sprint at Joe Creason Park may not be an advantage.

Nuss knows Anthony particularly well, having competed against her many times in cyclocross races and gravel events; the 33-year-old Nuss won back-to-back elite women's Pan Am championships in 2021 and 2022 and a silver medal at the CX Nationals in Hartford in 2022 She has also won a silver medal at the CX Nationals in Hartford. She stood on the podium last year in Louisville, improving 13 places from the 2018 event, which was held on a similar course.

“It's been a bit of an off year for me and for racing. I did a full season of Lifetime Grand Prix and CX and am still crawling out of last year's hole.

“Every week I feel more confident in my preparation for the National Championships. Above all, my ultimate goal is to win the Stars and Stripes.”

“I really like the course in Louisville. Especially since we haven't had much mud this year during the U.S. season.”

Nuss' observation is spot on, as the majority of UCI-sanctioned cyclocross races in the US this year have been dry and dusty. The forecast for Louisville this week is similar 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 events, but it won't create the quagmire that enveloped the entire park in 2018.

“We definitely want rain for our races. I'm praying,” Kraus added. 'I think they are good at adding technical features as well as power features to the course.'

Regardless of Saturday's results, both Steve Tilfords will fly from Louisville to Europe after this weekend's race and immediately focus on the full World Cup schedule, which begins this weekend in Hulst and Sonnhofen.

“We are especially looking forward to Katie's return to the World Cup field. The possibility of Katie returning to the top end of the sport in the future is a great motivation for me as a team owner and wearing my team manager hat (as well as her teammate and friend). I want to help her do what she needs to do to get there,” Nass said.