12 standout Canadian performances from 2023 World Cup season

While the incredible show Mont-Sainte-Annd put on to wrap up the 2023 World Cup season is just barely in the rearview mirror, and far from fading from memory, it was a long year. It was, for Canadians, also a really good year.

So, before we move on to the 2024 season, let’s take a look way back to the start of the ’23 season to pull out some World Cup highlights from Canuck riders.

Jackson Goldstone’s stellar rookie year

Jackson Goldstone started his first year in the elite category strong, with a podium in Leogang, and only got better from there. A win in Val di Sole and a series of more podiums carried the young Syndicate racer into contention for the overall title. That would be remarkable for any rookie but was all the more impressive considering he spent the first half of the season battling an ongoing injury, balancing training with surgery. Goldstone’s wrapped up his rookie year in the most spectacular way possible: winning the final World Cup at home in Canada at Mont-Sainte-Anne to secure second overall. Sensational effort from the young star.

Carter Woods’ wins

After a great 2022 season, Carter Woods started 2023 with a new team, joining Giant Factory Off-Road Team, and big goals. The success started early, with a perfect weekend in Val di Sole, Italy, where Woods won the under-23 short track (XCC) and u23 cross country Olympic (XCO) races. An unfortunate mechanical slowed down the Vancouver Islander’s world championships effort on the start line, but Woods rallied to take a spectacular win at the penultimate u23 World Cup round in Snowshoe, W.Va.

Emmy Lan repeats overall title

Emmy Lan, also from Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley, rolled into 2023 as the defending under-21 champion of the Enduro World Series. The series name may have changed, with UCI retitling it as Enduro World Cup, but the result stayed the same. Lan dominated the season with five wins in eight rounds to win the 2023 title. The Forbidden Synthesis racer also landed the Canadian enduro national championship title and, just for fun, raced downhill world championships and several downhill World Cup events between and after the enduro calendar.

Gunnar Holmgren’s ascent up the elite ranks

Not all standout results involve stepping on a podium. Gunnar Holmgren rocketed up the elite men’s standings this year, showing remarkable skill and potential to bring Canada’s men’s cross country program back to the front of the World Cup field. On top of several excellent short track cross country results, Holmgren landed inside the top 20 at the Andorra World Cup. The next race in Les Gets, the Pivot Cycles-OTE racer was on track for far more, riding inside the top 10 late in the elite men’s XCO before a flat tire ended his run. Holmgren would surely have preferred to finish the race and get that top 10, but just proving that he can there is pretty exciting for fans back at home who are already looking forward to next season.

Bodhi Kuhn’s breakout junior year

Bodhi Kuhn started the season with an upgrade to Trek’s factory program and quickly went to work making good on the team’s belief in him. After a podium, Kuhn earned his first junior World Cup win at Val di Sole. That put him in the leader’s jersey at the mid-point of the season. After scoring silver at world champs in Fort William, injury held Kuhn back in the second half of the season, but he remains one of the fastest juniors and perpetually one of the most stylish as he heads into his first elite season in 2024.

Rhys Verner’s first EDR win

After years of coming close, Squamish’s Rhys Verner earned his first pro men’s Enduro World Cup win this year in Leogang, Austria. The Forbidden Synthesis racer was on the podium again in Petra Ligure, where he finished second behind fellow Canuck, Jesse Melamed. Melamed earned a second win in Châtel, making a strong start to his tenure with the Canyon Cllctv.

Emilly Johnston’s podiums in Nove Mesto

After basing herself in Europe with her new Trek Future Racing squad for much of the year, Emilly Johnston – again, from the Comox Valley – earned her first under-23 World Cup podium in Nove Mesto. Johnston was close again in Snowshoe, W.Va where she was fifth. Add an impressive fourth at under-23 world championships and another under-23 national XCO title in Kentville, N.S. and it was one heck of a year for the Canadian.

Goldstone and Iles wearing World Cup leader’s jersey

Never before have two different Canadian men worn the elite men’s World Cup leader’s jersey in one year. First Finn Iles, then Jackson Goldstone held the coveted leader’s jersey at different points in the 2023 season. While neither would hold onto it, Iles’ Specialized teammate would take the win ahead of Goldstone with Iles fourth overall, it is a big sign of what’s to come from Canada’s downhill program.

Haley Smith XCM World Cup podium

This was the first year that cross country marathon racing, like enduro, was included under the World Cup banner. While most of the racing was in Europe, Haley Smith took advantage of the lone North American stop. Smith, recently crowned Canadian XCM national champion in Whitehorse, was second in Snowshoe, W.Va XCM World Cup, behind the U.S.A.’s Hannah Otto.

Jakob Jewett’s Snowshoe

The elite men’s downhill ranks are more crowded than ever, especially with the added pressure of a semi-final run this year. That makes Jakob Jewett’s 13th place among the elite men at Snowshoe World Cup an incredible result. The Pivot Factory Racing Canadian also earned wins at Crankworx, including on the 1199 track in Whistler, and added a 5th in the u21 men’s race at the Châtel Enduro World Cup just for good measure. A strong sign of more to come from Jewett (and his younger brother, Dane) as well as a great reminder that Canada has a broad talent base beyond minted stars like Iles and Goldstone.

Gracey Hemstreet’s consistent rookie season

Another successful junior making a strong elite debut was Gracey Hemstreet. While the Norco Factory Team racer just barely missed out on landing a podium, she was consistently in the top 10 all season long. It might not have been as headline-grabbing as her fellow Canadian rookie’s debut on the men’s side, but the Sunshine Coast racer’s results are incredible for a first-year elite.

Jon Mozell World Cup podium in Les Gets junior race

When Bodhi Kuhn was hurt, Forbidden Synthesis’ junior, Jon Mozell stepped up to make sure there was still a Canadian on the podium in Les Gets. The silver medal in France is Mozell’s first junior men’s World Cup podium and a huge accomplishment for the first-year junior. Mozell has a whole season left to make his mark on the junior category before he moves up to elites, too.