Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup is in full swing on Friday, and Canadians launched out of the gates at full speed. Canada’s world champion, Isabella Holmgren, stormed to a win in the rainbow jersey in the under-23 women’s XCC. The Lidl-Trek racer claimed victory in Quebec in front of friends, family and Canadian fans cheering on from the sidelines.
It’s Holmgren’s first XCC win since claiming the under-23 short track title at world championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland earlier in September. From there, the Trek racer headed south to Rwanda for road worlds before returning to North America to race back on dirt at Mont-Sainte-Anne. We talked to the Canadian about balancing her successes on and off-road while she was in Rwanda.
But Holmgren wasn’t the only Canadian finding success at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
MacPhee finds overall podium
Ella MacPhee (Willier Vittoria Factory Team) rounded out an incredible under-23 season with a spot on the short track World Cup overall podium. MacPhee claims third overall for the 2025 season. Austria’s Katharina Sadnik (KTM Factory Team) takes the win with Italy’s Valentina Corvi (Canyon Cllctv)
The B.C. racer is enjoying a wildly successful season, both at the World Cup and beyond. She landed her first World Cup podium in Araxa, Brazil. Then landed her first World Cup win at Nova Mesto in the Czech Republic. MacPhee also landed double XCC/XCO continental titles back in April in Costa Rica.
This short track success is just the start. Both MacPhee and Holmgren will be back on track in Mont-Sainte-Anne this weekend. They’ll take on the Olympic cross country race (XCO), the final round of the 2025 season.
This weekend is also the final weekend of World Cup racing for Mont-Sainte-Anne. After 30 World Cups, the Quebec venue is off the calendar for the 2026 season. In place of the World Cup, MSA will join the Crankworx World Tour next year.