With just weeks to go before she represents Canada at the Olympics in Paris, Orillia's Isabella Holmgren cycled to a pair of gold medals at the Mountain Bike World Cup at Les Gets France.
Holmgren won the U23 women’s short track event Friday evening and then repeated the feat Sunday morning when she won gold in the cross country race.
She is now three for three in the cross country event this season and undefeated in each World Cup she has entered this year; quite a feat for someone who is only in her first year of this category.
"It poured rain Saturday night and Bella rode a very mature, patient race, relearning the track that had become very muddy and slippery," said the athlete's mom, Lisa Holmgren.
Isabella's brother, Gunnar, who will also be competing at the Olympics later this month, started further back but was able to work his way up to 36th in the elite men’s race.
"He put together a solid performance after a difficult first lap," said Lisa Holmgren.
Ian Ackert of Severn Township scored his first European World Cup top 20, finishing 18th in the U23 men’s race after getting caught behind a crash at the start of the event that featured some of the world's top cyclists.
Gunnar Holmgren will return to high altitude to finish preparing for Paris, while Isablla joins her Lidl-trek team at a training camp in Andorra to finish her Olympic preparations.
