A trio of local cyclists travelled to British Columbia this weekend and raced to an improbable hat trick as all three won titles at the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships.
The three hard-driving, determined athletes, who race for the Stimulus Orbea Cycling Team, are national champions who now can proudly wear the maple leaf on their coveted championship jerseys.
Ian Ackert kicked off the racing Saturday, taking the hole-shot in the junior men’s category, leading from start to finish. Ackert, a 17-year-old from Orillia, won by over a minute, showing his world class form in an elite field of Canada's top cyclocross racers.
Next up was Isabella Holmgren, who took the lead early into the first lap of the junior women’s race and never looked back. She cruised across the line for the victory and the maple leaf jersey.
Later in the day saw the elite women’s race. The course conditions had deteriorated significantly with cold, rainy weather and slick muddy conditions. The racers were required to dismount and run sections that had previously been rideable.
Ava Holmgren, who is a junior-aged racer, had received permission to race up with the elite women. She wanted the challenge and relished the chance to wear the jersey next year after graduating from the junior ranks.
Ava proved the challenge wasn’t too much, bringing home the women’s elite national title. Ava demonstrated her technical prowess, avoiding crashes and forcing her competitors to make errors while trying to keep up with her pace.
It was an impressive showing against women with many more years of international racing experience.
The trio didn’t have much time to celebrate as bikes needed to be cleaned and race ready for the Bear Crossing Grand Prix UCI races taking place the next day on the same course as the nationals, at Layritz Park in Saanich, B.C.
Sunday saw Ackert bring home another gold in the junior men’s race.
For the women, Isabella Holmgren decided to join her twin sister against the elite and under 23 women. This time, Isabella took the victory, 11 seconds over sister Ava. Once again, the youngsters proved their strength, skill and fitness against a strong, experienced field.
Ava and Isabella's older brother, Gunnar Holmgren, placed third in the elite men’s race at cyclocross nationals. The 2021 Orillia Athlete of the the Year races for the Pivot-OTE mountain biking team based out of Quebec.
He is focusing on cross country mountain biking for the upcoming season but has a passion for cyclocross and thought he would make the trip with his sisters to throw his hat in the ring!
With their successes, these young cyclists have gained valuable UCI points to further boost their international rankings and improved their starting grid positions in future races.
They are most proud to be national champions and to wear their new maple leaf jerseys with pride, said their coach who likened the emergence of the Canadians in international cycling to the arrival of Eurpoean players to hockey "back in the day."
The team is now busy preparing for their European campaign over the Kerstperiode, a daunting and gruelling series of 10 races over an 11-day span from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, mostly in Belgium.
The local cyclists will be gearing up to face some of their fiercest competition yet at the elite-level international races. They will be based in Belgium where they will join other riders from Team Canada.
