CYCLING: A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR THE HOLMGRENS

While they call Orillia home, the bike has taken the Holmgren family around the world – training, racing, winning medals and making memories.

With dad Rob Holmgren being a Cyclocross National Team Coach, his wife Lisa a physiotherapist and coach and three out of their five children racing for the National Team, the entire family has developed a profound love for the sport over the years.

“The girls [Isabella and Ava], Gunnar, myself and my wife race road, mountain bike and [cyclo]cross, but predominately mountain and ‘cross,” explains Rob. “Our other two kids don’t ride anymore; they did at one point, but they do their own thing now.”

Like most families, traditions started early when the children were still little. Wednesday nights were reserved for riding, not only to help them get some energy out after school, but also to spend time as a family. What started out as a fun activity quickly turned into a passion for the whole family.

“For the kids, their first exposure would have been the Hardwood Wednesday Night Series, so that was a weekly ordeal,” said Rob. “Kind of like a pizza night. We would do the race, and then have ice cream after. It was fun that way. When everyone was old enough, there was a lot more travel involved with O-Cups and Tremblant which have always been a big race for the family. And then when they started racing in the States for ‘cross, that’s been five years maybe, those became family trips as well.”

While they transmitted their passion for cycling to their kids, Rob and Lisa both got into the sport as a means of getting from point A to point B and only began racing later in life. “My sister bought her first mountain bike in ’87 and I bought my own the next summer with money I earned from summer jobs and that’s when it all began. There was a local organizer in Montebello, Quebec who was putting races on. I did a couple of those and got hooked.”

From there, Rob realized that his love for the sport would never fade and decided to become a coach in the late ‘90’s, never looking back. While part of the journey has been building a career that revolves around his passion, another important part has been witnessing his kids represent Canada and win medals on the world stage.

Just this past year, the Holmgrens have seen plenty of success nationally and internationally, with Ava becoming Pan American Junior Champion, Gunnar claiming two top-10 finishes on the U23 Mountain Bike World Cup circuit and all three children plus mom Lisa winning medals at the 2021 Canadian MTB Championships.

“They’ve always done well racing in Canada and the States for ‘cross. To go over as first-timers and to race their peers and even the Elite field at Christmas Cross is impressive. Both girls had a really good race at Hulst with Ava finishing with the lead lap and both girls hanging on. It’s pretty cool that everything they’ve done up until now has led to this and to see them realize that they certainly belong here.”

While his kids’ success has been thrilling to watch, one of Rob’s fondest memories was being able to travel internationally as a family and getting to experience the world together. The one trip that sticks out the most was a training camp in Girona.

“We were there for the month of February; Gunnar was there training and doing his own thing but he would join us as our ride guide so to speak. The girls were training and my wife was a coach with the OCA for a couple of weeks as well. That was pretty awesome. That was the girls first time travelling to Europe, with the bike bags and all that stuff and they managed to do it pretty much on their own. They learned to live with others – I mean I was there, but I wasn’t there as dad, I was there as their coach. It was awesome to sit back and watch the different relationships with the different athletes and coaches evolve. Girona is a pretty magical place.”

While the family is constantly on the go with travel, training and racing, it’s also the common denominator that keeps them connected and allows them to constantly improve within the sport by pushing one another. The bike has had such a profound impact on the Holmgrens, showing the power that cycling can have not only on an individual basis but for families as well.