Clara Honsinger (Team S&M CX), a 22-year-old from Portland, Oregon, rose to the top of the elite women's US Cyclocross Championship, pulling Katie Compton out of her 15-year reign in the start and stripe jersey.

Honsinger, a student at Oregon State University, spent more time last week studying for the finals than preparing for the championship race.

"I can't do well on the intervals if I'm stressed out from studying," he said.

"This past week was very easy, and while some athletes are at the end of their racing season, for many it's like the halfway point. So if you're at your peak right now, it might be like rolling down to the World Championships," she said.

Honsinger competed in the amateur category for a week before taking the Compton crown in a stunning 50-minute run through the muddy, diverse, and challenging course of the Pacific Northwest.

Honsinger, along with US Pro CX calendar winner Rebecca Fahringer (Kona Maxxis Shimano), pulled away from the pack as early as the second lap, with Compton finishing about 30 seconds behind with Courtney McFadden.

The Team S&M rider dropped Fahringer in one of the run-ups and distanced himself from the young leader before the Kona rider crashed. From there to the finish, Honsinger controlled things and stayed in front.

Not having to race side-by-side and not having to chase Compton at the end of the race was a bit of a surprise for the young Oregonian.

"In the technical sections, I felt she excelled a lot more than we did. This course is kind of a blend of power and technical skills, and it requires special technical skills like dropping down in the chute and holding the line on the edges. Of course, there were plenty of long, straight power sections and run-ups where you had to be aware of where your feet were placed."

Honsinger put his feet in the right places for the remainder of the race and held off the legend to take the jersey by 29 seconds over Fahringer and 1:20 over Compton. It was an upset victory that shocked everyone, but perhaps Honsinger's coach, Kennda Wenzel, tweeted her feelings during the race.

"Announcers can talk all they want about Katie FnCompton, but this is the performance @clarahonsinger and I have been planning all season for the World Championships," Wenzel He wrote.

Now that Honsinger has the jersey, he will bring confidence to Europe when he returns for the final part of the UCI World Cup series and the World Championships in early February.

"It certainly does," she said of the morale she gained in the race. But it's a different continent over there and the racing is totally different. This has given me more confidence, but I'm trying to keep an aggressive edge. That's the biggest difference. It's more aggressive, more elbow-to-elbow racing, and we're fighting for the top 10."

Honsinger's battle for this season's results actually began well before the offseason, with an emphasis on power and endurance from the road races. He also focused on changing his mental attitude to prepare for full time racing at the elite level, rather than racing at the U23 level as he did last year.

"In the off-season, I focused a lot on bodybuilding," he said. I did a lot of road racing, and I've grown a lot as an athlete over the past year." Going from a U23 rider to a full time elite rider has helped me focus mentally.

Part of that focus has been the added maturity of not getting depressed over trivial things during a race.

"I've built on that foundation by visualizing not only my emotions during the race, but also the movement of the course and running and not letting the smallest mistake crack me up.

Still, the rookie champion, who has dethroned 15-time consecutive living legends, still gets nervous before races.

"I get nervous, but that's normal," she said.