Family, friends, and local fans gathered at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Oro-Medonte Township to cheer on Orillia's Gunnar Holmgren, who made his Olympic debut in Paris this morning.
The Orillia cyclist placed 30th in the men's cross-country event in France that was won by Great Britain's Tom Pidcock, who earned his second straight gold medal in the event, repeating his feat from Tokyo four years ago.
The arduous Olympic race featured eight laps around a challenging man-made 35.2 km course at Élancourt Hill, located about 40 kilometres from the Athletes Village.
Holmgren, 24, began cycling in the Wednesday Night Race Series at Hardwood Ski and Bike with his twin sisters Isabella and Ava and his parents Rob and Lisa when he was about nine years old.
"Hardwood is a world-class training ground," said Gunnar's father, Rob. "It's an amazing facility and that Wednesday Night Series is what grows Olympians from the get-go."
When Gunnar turned 14, he gave up his passion for figure skating to begin cycling across Canada competitively.
"He decided he was done with skating and wanted to race mountain bikes more seriously," Rob explained. "We had just bought him a brand-new pair of skates maybe two days before."
Rob says "it was a big surprise" for Gunnar to give up on figure skating after countless hours of training and competing.
"He was an exceptional skater," he said. "Because of that, it's not a big surprise that he's done well on the mountain bike."
Rob says he's "quite proud" of his son for using the same work ethic and drive he learned from figure skating to make it to the Olympic stage in another sport.
"It's been a lot of work," he said. "It's all been worth it."
Since arriving at the airport in France last week, Rob says the Olympic experience has been like nothing else for Gunnar and his sister Ava who finished 17th in the women's cross-country event yesterday.
"It's overwhelming," he said. "Lululemon has been very kind to them with clothing. Gunnar's team provided him with a bike and a games-only paint job. It's been pretty cool."
Rob thanks everyone who has supported his family over the years and those who rooted for Isabella and Gunnar this week.
"It's taken a lot of commitment and work from everyone involved," he said. "As corny as it sounds, it really does take a village."
Hardwood Ski and Bike General manager Gareth Houben says the whole community is "super proud" of the Holmgrens and their accomplishments that have helped put the region and the facility on the map.
"It was a tough journey to get there," he said. "It wasn't a shoo-in for them and it was a grind to make the team."
Houben says he remembers watching both Gunnar and Isabella race at Hardwood Ski and Bike at a young age.
"Their parents used to live here on the property when Gunnar was a baby," he said. "There is a long history between the Holmgrens and Hardwood. They're family here."
The Holmgrens aren't the first to represent Hardwood Ski and Bike at the Olympics. Len Väljas competed in cross-country skiing during the Winter Games in 2014 and 2018. Oro-Medonte's Peter Disera, who grew up racing at Hardwood, represented Canada during the 2020 Summer Games.
"We've been fortunate to have a lot of high-level athletes come out of Hardwood from both the skiing and mountain bike programs," Houben said. "The Holmgrens, though, have managed to take it to a level that very few have been able to."
Houben says Gunnar and Isabella defied all odds by making it to the Olympic stage together at the same time.
"It's a very tough sport to make it to this level," he said. "With how Canada competes internationally in cycling and not having the funding that other European countries have, it's pretty spectacular that they've accomplished something very special."
The success of the Holmgrens is helping to put Hardwood Ski and Bike on the map as a "world-class" facility, Houben says.
"We have incredible athletes and coaches," he said. "Everyone who races here is a family. It's hard to describe it as anything else."
