On Sunday, Canadian athletes wrapped up a stunning world championships week in Pal Arinsal, Andorra with two more medals including a second world championship title in a week for Isabella Holmgren. Along the way, mountain bikers contributed to Canadian cycling had arguably its best day ever. But, just on dirt alone, Canadina athletes wrapped up arguably the country’s best world championships with six medals.
Cindy Devine at the 1991 NorAm MTB race. Photo: John Gibson
Yes, we’ve had good years before
Now, Canada has a long history of success at mountain bike worlds. Numerous worlds titles for the maple leaf team start back at Year One (a.k.a. 1990), and continue with impressive regularity over the next three-plus decades. But rarely have our country’s athletes all excelled in a single week.
Maybe there was a better day back in the early 90s and earliest days of world championships. Back when Cindy Devine and Elladee Brown were finishing first and second in downhill for Canada at world champs, taking two medals out of only five events. Or in 1992, when Devine and Alison Sydor were both on the podium. As a ratio of events to medals, those were both great years.
Since then, though? Canada’s strength in cross county and downhill have, generally, alternated. Even in the 2010-2012 era, where Catharine Pendrel and Stevie Smith were at the top of their respective disciplines, they never hit the podium in the same year.
There are a few years, though, where Canada won more than one or two medals.
In 2001 Roland Green won the men’s XCO. Alison Sydor was silver in the elite women’s cross country and Ryder Hesjedal* also silver in under-23 men’s XCO. That trio were joined by Chrissy Redden and Adam Coates to win the XC Relay. That makes four medals total, with two in the elite categories.
Then, in 2016, Finn Iles and Magnus Manson went 1-2 in the junior men’s downhill while Emily Batty was bronze in the elite women’s XCO.
Then, in 2023, Isabella Holmgren and Marin Lowe went 1-2 in the junior women’s XCO, with Ian Ackert bronze in the junior men’s. On the downhill side, Bodhi Kuhn brought home silver in the junior men’s event. That is, again, four medals.
Double gold and double rainbows for Isabella Holmgren in Andorra. Photo: Javier Martínez/SWpix.com
2024’s huge medal haul
So that’s the past. Let’s look at this year. First, we have Isabella Holmgren winning two world championships in one week. The Orillia, Ont. won gold in short track (XCC) and Olympic cross country (XCO). In XCC, she was joined by her sister, Ava Holmgren who earns bronze. In the Olympic race, Emilly Johnston earned her first world championships medal with a bronze. More impressively, both rode from the back of the elite women’s field into the top 20, and for Holmgren, the top 5 of the elite women’s field in a weather-forced combined start. Rafaelle Carrier added another silver for Canada in her first junior women’s XCO appearance.
Finn Iles fought to within a fraction of a second of the elite men’s win. Photo: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
On the downhill side, Finn Iles returned to a world champs podium for the first time since his 2016 junior win. The Specailized racer takes bronze, but by a wildly narrow margin, in the elite men’s DH.
But, with 2024, medals only tell part of the story. Beyond the podium, Gracey Hemstreet was fourth in the elite women’s downhill. Cole Punchard was sixth in the under-23 men’s race. Ava Holmgren and Ella MacPhee were both right up there in the under-23 women’s XCO. To start the week off, our cross country team was fourth in the relay event as well.
So was this Canada’s best world championships ever? Yeah! And best part is, with so many medals coming in the younger categories, we’re just getting started.
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