What a year for Orillia, Ont., native Isabella Holmgren! After an incredible year in 2023, where she won both the MTB and ‘cross world championships, she and her sister Ava were signed to the WorldTour team Lidl-Trek.
“Lidl-Trek is keeping its sights firmly fixed on the future with three young signings to the women’s squad,” the team said when announcing the news. “The Holmgren twins are serial winners in cyclocross and XC. They frequently traded between first and second places over the cyclocross season: Isabella took the junior world and national titles, while Ava took the elite national title, Trek CX Cup, as well as silver in the junior world champs.”
After racing a full ‘cross season—culminating in an impressive 4th place after clawing her way back from 20th at the world under-23 champs—one more lap and she most likely would have taken the bronze.
Mixing road and MTB
She and her sister would juggle pro road races along with MTB, with great success. Ava scored a big result early in the season, taking second in the final stage of the Tour de Normandie on Sunday.
Ava Holmgren on her first spring as a pro cyclist
Bella went on to have several big wins in the dirt at World Cups in Italy and France. She also ultimately secured a berth to the Paris 2024 Olympics—a huge achievement for a first-year elite.
Both Holmgrens returned to Canada for the national road championships. Although they had been racing primarily mountain bikes leading up to it, they had impressive results: Ava took second in the ITT, with Bella in third in the under-23 category. In the road race, Ava took another silver.
The incredible ride at the Tour de l’Avenir
As the season continued, Bella scored some big results. The Tour de l’Avenir, often seen as a younger sibling to the Tour de France, has launched many future stars. Winners include Miguel Induráin (1986), who secured five Tour de France titles from 1991 to 1995, and Laurent Fignon (1982), who won the Tour in 1983 and 1984. Nairo Quintana (2010) and Egan Bernal (2017) also achieved Grand Tour success—Quintana with the Giro d’Italia (2014) and Vuelta a España (2016), and Bernal at the Tour de France (2019). None other than Tadej Pogačar won in 2018.
The Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, a new addition to the under-23 calendar, held its first edition in 2023. The four-day race includes a prologue and three road stages. Although she almost didn’t race the Tour of the Future—she was second alternate and learned quite late that she did—she showed she is special. She finished second overall, taking the QOM jersey and several impressive rides in the mountains.
“Bella is showing herself to be one of the strongest climbers in the world and able to quickly move through a field, which sets her up well for both stage racing and XCO,” national team coach—and former MTB world champion—Catharine Pendrel said. “She also shows great capacity, having her best MTB performances on the heels of stage races at Worlds last year and this year, as well as before Nove Mesto. At MTB Worlds, she finished l’Avenir on Saturday, raced the relay Wednesday after two days of course prep, won the short track two days later, and the XCO two days after that.”
The next Isabella Holmgren
There are plenty of parallels to be made with some of the top riders who excel on both dirt and road. One of the greatest female cyclists of all time, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, is dominant whether in MTB or road. Former world MTB champion Tom Pidcock won a stage of the Tour on one of the most famous climbs, Alpe d’Huez. And we all know what Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert can do, whether it’s cross or road.
Holmgren impressed once again just weeks after the stage race. Not only did she win the U-23 world XCC and XCO championships—she finished top-5 overall. That’s a very impressive result for a first-year under-23 to finish with the best in the world in the elite category.
“Bella has shown tremendous progression in her transition from junior world champion to under-23 world champion and top 5 Elite within one season,” Pendrel said. “I think she can excel at whichever discipline she decides to focus on.”
That’s the big question: what will she focus on, and how far can she go? She has definitely shown she has the potential to take on the top elites for the rainbow jersey. But what about races like the Tour de France Femmes? With her climbing ability and stage race performances, could she be one of the next big things for Grand Tours in the women’s WorldTour?
“With Lidl-Trek and Trek Factory Racing offering her support in three different disciplines and their coach Xabier Zabalo being able to work directly with the team to balance the racing and training demands and focus of each, I think she will be supported to continue competing in all three as long as it makes her happy and supports performance,” Pendrel said. “Her contract is currently for road, however, so it comes first.”
One thing is clear—no matter what her focus ends up being, it’s a very exciting time for Canadian cycling fans. Both Bella and Ava have shown remarkable results, and the future looks very bright.
The post Bella Holmgren had an amazing 2024: How far can she go? appeared first on Canadian Cycling Magazine.
