Isabella Holmgren is one of the most talented pro cyclists in North America across three disciplines – road, mountain bike and cyclocross. But after winning two under-23 world titles in MTB and the Tour de l’Avenir on the road, the Canadian has decided to step away from cyclocross this year.
“I’m just taking a step back, just for now,” Holmgren told Cyclingnews from the Lidl-Trek team camp in Denia, Spain, on Friday. “It’s nice to have a bit more of a break and a better build into the road and mountain bike season. So I’ll spend Christmas at home with my family. So I’m really excited.”
As the sport has seen over the past decade, some of the biggest stars on the road have come from other disciplines like cyclocross (Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert) or MTB (Pauline Ferrand-Prévot).
Her calendar for 2026 is still to be announced, but one major goal outside of Lidl-Trek is for Holmgren to be at the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal – just a six-hour drive from her front door.