Madigan "Maddie" Munroe had a winning weekend of her own in the under-23 women's category at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup season opener in Waterloo, Wisconsin, even if she did not finish first. After the elite women's race, she earned a silver medal in the U23 category, her first top-10 finish in an elite women's World Cup event.

The Boulder, Colorado native has quickly risen through the ranks in cyclocross and is now balancing her love of mountain biking. However, she has put her World Cup points battle on hold to defend her title at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, October 13-16 at the Purgatory Resort in Colorado, He will skip round two of the cyclocross series in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

"In Durango, I will be racing mountain bikes at my school, Colorado Mesa University. But I'll be racing cross again in December, and then I'll head to Europe for the World Championships."

Last year, as a sophomore at CMU, she won collegiate titles in cross country and short track XC. And over the summer, she won the U23 cross country title at the national mountain biking championships. Her title defense begins with cross country on Friday and continues with short track on Saturday, marking the second year that the national championships will be held at the Purgatory Resort, which first hosted the mountain bike world championships in 1990.

The 20-year-old joined Trek Factory Racing after concluding her final "cross" season as a junior with a bronze medal at the 2020 Cyclocross World Championships in Dübendorf, Switzerland. in the first half of the 2021-2022 season, Kings CX podium finishes in the C2 events and carried that momentum into the U23 crown at the Pan American Championships in Texas and the U23 silver medal at the National Championships in Fayetteville.

She opened the season with three top-five U.S. finishes, including second place in the elite women's mud C2 race at the Rochester Cyclocross. At the Trek CX Cup, she finished fifth behind winner Clara Honsinger (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) and set a career best at the World Cup two days later.

"To be honest, it was helpful to see how the race went on Friday and to ride with the riders who were here, especially Clara. I kind of know her riding style and how to keep up with her as a consistent rider. So my goal was to stay close to her and others like her," Munroe told Cycling News.

"I tried to stay upright most of the time and stay on as many wheels as possible. Once you get into no man's land, you're in a bit of trouble. So I tried to stay with one or two people. So I tried to be smooth and patient and pass when I could."

Six Dutchmen dominated the race lead, with 20-year-old Femme van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen Bingoel) winning the sprint ahead of second-placed Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin Phoenix). Honsinger finished seventh. Munroe did not stall and was 17 seconds ahead of French rider and USCX series leader Caroline Mani.

"At the end of the race, the gap between the rider in front and the one behind me opened up. So I was able to keep my pace, ride smooth and keep the gap to the guys behind me.

She would take some time off after the collegiate mountain bike nationals and return to the "Euro CX Race" after the nationals in Hartford, Connecticut in December.