We are getting so close to the road worlds, and Canadians are doing their final prep for it. For the dudes, it was Les Grands Prix Cyclistes de Montr\u00e9al et de Qu\u00e9bec. For the women, the Tour de Gatineau went down, with a TT and a road race. And for the national team riders who are headed to the worlds in days, all the pistons are firing. Everyone in red and white, and, um, black and white (there was an elite team and an under-23 team), was doing great.<\/p>\n
Tour de Gatineau<\/p>\n
Ava Holmgren finished third at the Tour de Gatineau on Thursday, sprinting onto the podium in a race that came down to an 11-rider group at the end. It seemed like there were a zillion breaks in the race; super aggressive racing.<\/p>\n
Steffi H\u00e4berlin of Switzerland took the dub, beating Australia\u2019s Georgia Baker in the sprint. Holmgren crossed the line third, with the result coming just days before she races the worlds in Montreal.<\/p>\n
The 121.3-km race saw several groups come together late, with Holmgren among the riders fighting for position before the finish. The Canadian had help from her twin sister Isabella, who was also part of the front group.<\/p>\n
\u201cNadia was drilling it on the front, and Bella was also helping keep the pace high. She asked me what she could do to help, and I told her to stay on my right, because I was planning on passing on the right, and I wanted to make sure no one passed me,\u201d Holmgren said. \u201cIn this sprint, the positioning mattered a lot more than the max power I had. I fought and gave it everything I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holmgren\u2019s result adds another strong finish to a busy season.<\/p>\n
The Oro-Medonte, Ont., rider is an under-23 individual time trial champion and finished fourth in the elite road race at the Canadian championships. She\u2019s been having a great past few seasons as a proper puncheur. You\u2019ll see her name at the top of the leaderboard sooner than later in some of the Classics.<\/p>\n
Next up is Montreal. Holmgren has been selected to race both the individual time trial and road race at the world championships, which begin next week. She\u2019ll be joined by her sister Isabella in the road race.<\/p>\n