October 4/24 12:47 pm - Holmgren & Johnston Both On Podium in U23 XCC Final

Posted by Editoress on 10/4/24
 

The first 2024 overall World Cup titles were awarded on Thursday at Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, in the Under-23 women's and men's XCC. Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) took second in the women's race, while Emilly Johnston (Trek Future) was sixth, which was enough to secure her second place in the overall standings. Holmgren finished fourth overall.

The 1.1 kilometre circuit opened with a long climb, followed by a traverse of the hill and then a short drop before back across the hill through a flowing pump track-style section of rollers. The riders then dropped back to the bottom of the course for a flat section to a U-turn into the finishing straight. The multiple climbs proved to be tough enough to discourage breakaway attempts, and both races were ones of attrition.

The women's race saw the leaders all clustered around the front, with overall leader Kira Böhm (Cube Factory) controlling the action. Both Holmgren and Johnston took turns at the front, but on the final lap Böhm took charge and Holmgren was unable to come around her. Lea Huber (Trek Future) took third. Ella MacPhee (Pivot Cycles - OTE) took ninth, putting three Canadians in the top-10. In the overall standings, Böhm won by over 200 points, with four wins in eight races. Johnston had one win and finished in the top-8 in every race. Holmgren, the world champion for the XCC, only raced five times, with two wins and three second places. MacPhee improved one spot after the final round to finish ninth overall.







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"It was definitely a super tough race," admitted Holmgren, "very aggressive and tactical today, and the course was really amazing. It made for a really tough race. The positions were changing around so much that by the time you made it to the front you were out of gas, so it was hard to do an attack off the front. I'm really happy with how the season has gone."

"I didn't know what to expect at the start of the season, so it was definitely an incredible year," said Johnston about her second overall. "There have been a lot of really high highs, but some pretty low lows as well, so I'm really stoked to have been able to be as consistent as I have been throughout the season. Last week I struggled with some sickness and I was just surviving, so it was great to feel like I was racing again this weekend and bring home second in the overall."

The men's race followed a similar pattern of attrition, with the previous round's winner, Dario Lillo (Giant Factory), particularly aggressive. He was followed closely by Bjorn Riley (Trek Future), second in the standings, Luke Moir (Cube Factory) and Luca Martin (Orbea Factory). World Cup leader and world champion Riley Amos (Trek Factory - Pirelli) had the title all but locked up, and rode more cautiously in the top-10. Lillo went to the front on the final lap and led the whole lap to take the win ahead of Bjorn Riley and Moir. Canada's Noah Ramsay had the best World Cup finish of his career in fifth place after surging in the final two laps. Cole Punchard (Pivot Cycles - OTE) unclipped at the top of the climb on the second lap and had to struggle to move up again, eventually finishing 11th. In the final overall standings, Riley Amos finished 40 points in front of Bjorn Riley, with Lillo remaining in third. Punchard moved up one spot to finish 15th overall.

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Mont-Ste-Anne World Cup: U23 Women and Men XCC results