How Does Clara Honsinger End Her Races? With Pizza and Ice Cream, of Course
When Clara Honsinger lined up at the start of the U.S. Cyclocross National Championship in Lakewood, Washington, on December 15, she felt grounded and secure.
As a result, the 22-year-old, who is studying nutrition at Oregon State University, beat Katie Compton to take first place. The last time someone beat Compton in the national championship was 15 years ago.
“It felt like a really good day from the start,” Honsinger tells Bicycling. “I had a bunch of finals all that week, so being able to get that off my plate and focus on racing felt like a weight was lifted off me. I’d been practicing the course, and it just felt good—everything came together really smoothly.”
Aside from a loaded training schedule, the food Honsinger puts into her body to fuel her rides and races also plays a large role in her success on the bike.
“Fueling ourselves is really important,” she says. “It’s essential for everyday activity.”
Here, Honsinger describes what she typically eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and the importance of getting the right combination of nutrients to ride and recover well.
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A post shared by Clara (@clarahonsinger) on Oct 31, 2018 at 6:38pm PDT
Pre-Ride Muesli
Muesli is super quick and simple—I don’t want to spend a lot of time making breakfast because I’m so busy. I’ll usually do muesli with yogurt, a banana, some peanut butter, and maybe some additional fruit for breakfast. It tastes good, and it’s easy to digest if I am going out for a ride later. I also really like dairy—milk and cheese and yogurt. Dairy has a lot of carbs and protein to get you kicking for a ride.
The Right Mix of Nutrients
I usually go for a ride after breakfast, so I want to replenish my carbs and rebuild the glycogen stores that I just burnt through when I come back. Usually I have something like a sandwich with some really good bread—I really like bread—some sort of meat for protein, and cheese. Sometimes, though, I’ll just do beans and rice. Either way, I always make a big salad to go on the side, because vegetables help fill you up.
For long rides, I used to be all about homemade stuff, like rice cakes or peanut butter sandwiches. But with school, I don’t have time to make anything now, so I’ll take Clif bars along with me. I like the Sierra Trail Mix ones—they’re easily digestible.
Dinner includes more vegetables—either a salad or roasted veggies—some carbs, and some protein. I try to consume more protein in the evening. Your body does a lot of its repair when you sleep, so you want to get enough protein in the evening so you have the amino acids readily available to do that.
Timing Is Everything
With racing, it’s all about the timing of things and getting adequate quantities. It’s really important to work backward from the time you’re racing. So if I have a 1:30 p.m. race, I want to eat something around 11 a.m.—two and a half hours or so before I race. I want to consume something easily digestible so usually it’s just rice. But I like to keep my eating around as normal as possible on race day.
Caffeine—and Maybe Even a Cookie—Is a Must
In the morning, I like to make a little latte using an espresso machine. Lattes help fill me up. In the afternoon, I drink either espresso or black coffee. I also really like cookies. Having that afternoon coffee and a cookie feels pretty important.
Postrace Pizza and Ice Cream
After the effort, you need to eat something pretty quickly. Typically, I go by the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein to replenish my glycogen stores.
A really good piece of pizza and some ice cream is great after a race. I love chocolate ice cream with nuts in it. My favorite pizza is margherita pizza—I don’t like my pizza too crazy, but just plain cheese is too boring.
Everything in Moderation
Eat a lot of different foods, eat enough of them, and allow yourself to have a few treats now and then. Being balanced is key.
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