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Shred Girl Ava Holmgren on Crushing it on the MTB and Surviving a Serious Endurance Camp
by
by Molly Hurford
I’ve known Ava Holmgren for a few years now and watched her race in the youngest categories and steadily age up into being an awesome Shred Girl in the Cadet category in Ontario. This past February, I got to spend a month coaching a camp with Ava and a bunch of other awesome young Ontario cyclists, and Ava really impressed me with her hard work, dedication, and ability to crush it on climbs. So, naturally, I wanted to get her best tips and thoughts on life as a Shred Girl.
All right, Ava, give me your full name, age and current team.
My name is Ava Jean Holmgren. I’m 14 years old and I race with Team Hardwood Next Wave.
How long have you been riding bikes?
I’ve been riding bikes for around 10 years now. My family has been in cycling for a very long time and my parents actually met through cycling, which is pretty cool. And I’ve been competing ever since the age of nine.
So how did you end up deciding that the mountain bike was what you wanted to focus on?
Well, I really enjoyed it a lot more than some of the other disciplines. I also like the technique part of it. And just the atmosphere. I’ve tried a little bit of track. I haven’t raced it, but I have ridden on it before, and I’ve done a few races on the road. And some cyclocross. That’s a big one. I liked that too!
Now, what’s your absolute favorite part of biking?
My favorite part is probably the fact that we traveled to a lot of different places, especially when you get to travel to different countries. You get a lot of experience from it and just like going to different trails. I really like that part.
Least favorite part?
My least favorite part is when the rainy season is over, and it’s wintertime and you don’t really get to ride your bike as often. Also… trainer rides aren’t very fun to me.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: How do you motivate through an entire race season? Because I think a lot of people struggle midway through.
I find it’s a lot easier for me because I really enjoy the sport and it’s part of my life, and I just love it so much. I find it easier to go through the season like that.
OK, how did you get so good at climbing?
Well, I’ve always been a fan of climbing. We don’t have very big hills at home, but I do repeats quite often. I find that when you get to the top, the feeling of accomplishment just feel so good. And it really motivates me through the climb. One of the tips that I use the most is to have fun. I know it might seem like silly, but if you have music playing and you keep happy thoughts going through your mind, it really like motivates you to go to the top and it doesn’t take as long. The climb doesn’t feel as long and it keeps the negative thoughts away—you don’t have time to think about that because you’re just having fun!
Best advice for new mountain bikers?
The best tip for me would probably be to change it up. If you’re doing the same trail all the time, it can get very boring, you might lose motivation. But if you go to different places and try different trails you also get a lot of experience doing that. And at races, being with my friends helps a lot to relax and have some giggles pre-race. I also like to listen to music on the car rides there to kind of chill, or to get pumped up.
So you’re actually a lot like me, you’re pretty shy, pretty quiet. How did you make friends in cycling?
Well, like I said before, cycling is a huge part of my life. So I’m either bike or at home doing other stuff. But when I am biking, it’s a lot easier to make friends because we’re such a small group some of the times, and we train together. We’re always spending time together.
You also train and race with a twin sister. How is that?
I find like, I enjoy it quite a lot. I know that there’s always going to be someone there if I need help. Or we can push each other to become better athletes.
What are your goals in cycling?
This year, I think I would like to be more involved, so make new friends and maybe do a few races where I volunteer after and just meet new people and get out there more. My ultimate goal would probably be to make biking my career and my full time job. And I’d love to be good enough to go to the Olympics, and if they make cyclocross a winter sport or summer sport, to go to that. That’s a very big dream of mine.
Favorite pros that you look up to you right now?
Um, I have a lot of favorite pros, but my biggest one probably PFP—Pauline Ferrand Prevot. She was the world champion in many different disciplines. And I think it showed that you don’t just have to do one. You don’t just have to be good at one. You can do whatever you want.
OK, what’s the most important thing that you’ve learned at this camp?
I think that I’ve learned that the mental part of getting through a camp like this has been big. If you’re always having a negative thoughts, it’s not gonna go well. You have to enjoy it and be grateful that everyone has done a lot to get you here. And I always remind myself that I’ve trained a lot and it really pays off in the end.
