Clara was raised in the picturesque mountains of Southern Oregon and at a young age became an expert at navigating their granitic and loose soil types via bicycle. Since moving to Portland in 2015, she has been taken under the guidance of the Team S&M family and has garnered a greater competence in wetter, tackier, and sometimes sloppy soils. As one of the riders for the Team S&M Pro CX crew, she took her expertise and newfound-knowledge to races across the country in the 2017-2018 ‘cross season and established herself as one of the top U23 riders in the nation, gaining results such as second place at both the U23 National and Pan-Am Championships. She finished her season across the Atlantic with with a solid 14th place in the deep and slippery mud of the Valkenburg U23 World Championships. She hopes to build upon the mounds of experience and development of last season, and aims to stake herself as the top U23 racer in the nation.