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Vikings and mud: Gunnar Holmgren is ready for Bogense

Canadian under-23 champion talks about Hoogerheide, Christmas Cross and custom paint ahead of worlds

Gunnar Holmgren

A long, drawn out cyclocross season, spanning September to February, is about to come to a conclusion in Bogense, Denmark, and Gunnar Holmgren couldn’t be more ready.

The Canadian under-23 national champion, a title earned in Peterborough, Ont. in November, has been in Europe since Christmas preparing for world championships in Denmark. Holmgren, of Orillia, Ont., was once again part of Cycling Canada’s Christmas Cross program. Immersing Canada’s top cyclocross talent in an intense period of near-daily racing in the sports heartland, Belgium and the Netherlands, it’s a chance for young riders to race, and learn at the top levels of the sport.

RELATED: Maghalie Rochette’s mixed Euro campaign will come to a close at Bogense world championships

This year, Holmgren was part of a team of riders that stayed in Europe after the Kertzperiod to train towards 2019 UCI cyclocross world championships in Bogense. Between competing at Hoogerheide World Cup and lining up for the start in Denmark, Holmgren took the time to answer my questions about Christmas Cross, worlds, the extended training camp and the inspiration behind his custom painted Cannondale SuperX.

Gunnar Holmgren Hoogerheide Anton Vos
Holmgren navigates one of many slippery off cambres at 2019 Hoogerheide World Cup. Image: Anton Vos

Canadian Cycling Magazine: You’ve been over in Europe since the start of Cycling Canada’s Christmas Cross program. How was that experience? How would you say that has helped you develop as a racer?

Gunnar Holmgren: Christmas Cross is always an incredible experience. We don’t often get to race five times in two weeks on top level courses against the highest level of competition. The short amount of time between the races allows us to correct what we did wrong the race before and learn much faster. We are incredibly lucky to have a full team of staff to help take care of our bikes and our bodies so we can focus on our nutrition, recovery and racing as fast as we can. That’s really cool for the amateur racers like me because we often clean and tune our own bikes when we race at home.

CCM: Christmas Cross ended with GP Sven Nys in Ball, where you were 11th. How did that race go?

GH: It was my best race of the trip! I had a clean start and rode the first lap in second place. Because the Baal course is permanent and gets ridden on year round, the ground is already churned up before the racers get there and if there’s any sign of moisture it gets very muddy. They added a few new sections including a massive ride/run up and some dirt jumps which were quite fun. Overall my race was pretty clean and I got the most out of my legs on the day so I was pretty glad with 11th place. I always look forward to Baal because it’s at the end of a huge racing block and you know you can perform well if you’ve recovered properly in between the races. Also cause the course is awesome. It’s a classic.

RELATED: Bike check: Gunnar Holmgren’s national champ VéloColour painted Cannondale SuperX

CCM: Since Baal, you’ve been in Girona with the Cycling Canada cylocross team. What’s been the focus there, and how has it been different than flying home, then flying back to Europe again for Worlds?

GH: The camp in Girona this year was very ‘cross specific. We’re very thankful to have Jeff Hunter as a mechanic this year to help keep our bikes in tip top shape so we could focus on training hard on the cross course that coach Mike Garrigan built for us. We were able to replicate some of the main features on the Bogense cross course like the big off cambers and descents. Staying in Girona also eliminates the large amount of travel fatigue from flying across the pond. It’s also much warmer than home so we can reliably ride our bikes on the sweet roads that Girona offers and on our cross course to keep our skills and legs sharp.

Gunnar Holmgren Cannondale super X Velolocour
Toronto’s Vélocolour custom painted Holmgren’s Cannondale SuperX in Candian colours for Bogense world championships. Image: Vélocolour

CCM: After your national championships win in Peterborough, Vélocolour custom painted one of your Cannondale SuperX’s in Canadian colours. How did that come about?

GH: I’m always looking on Instagram at Mathieu Van der Poel or Sanne Cant’s custom painted bikes so the whole process was a dream come true really. Suzanne Carlsen, Noah Rosen (Vélocolour’s owners) and I got in touch the Monday after the Nationals weekend. I was thinking of painting my helmet or my stem so when they said they wanted to spray the whole bike I was super stoked. The coach on our trip (Mike Garrigan) had his bike custom painted by Vélocolour after he won his second elite title so it’s an honour to continue that legacy. Suzanne and Noah were able to turn it around before my next race in Hendersonville, NC, which was amazing. They even put on a few personal touches reflecting my two nationals wins with the dates and the world championships that are in Denmark this year with a viking helmet inside a maple leaf. It’s amazing that I have the opportunity to show off my National title in Europe with such a bike and show them what the Canadians can do.

Gunnar Holmgren
Gunner Holmgren powers through the mud at 2019 Hoogerheide World Cup. Image: Anton Vos

CCM: After a few weeks in Spain, Hoogerheide World Cup was the first race back, and in pretty epic conditions. How was it returning from training to that race?

GH: Hoogerheide is always an exciting race. Traditionally it’s the World Cup final so the leaders usually put up a good fight for those extra points. For me the race had some positives and negatives. After some time off racing it was a bit difficult to get back into the mix of banging shoulders in the mud. On the plus side I had good legs and the skills are sharp. Girona prepared me well for the weekend as well as everyone else on the team. Good things to come!

RELATED: Watch live: 2019 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Bogense, Denmark

CCM: The worlds course in Denmark looks a bit different than the other World Cups. From what you’ve seen of it, what do you think of the course?

GH: Although different, all the World Cups share one thing in common. They are HARD. Not just difficult when you are racing but tough to make it around for an “easy” lap. World championships usually over-delivers on that front. At this point I’ve only seen it on TV so I’m sure the big hill all of the features are much steeper and taller in person. The course is open for a few days of riders chewing up the course before the first event so it’s a safe bet that there will be mud which is a good thing since we just raced a pretty muddy Hoogerheide. With all the quick and separate elevation change like Zolder, I think it will suit my riding style. I can’t wait to check it out!