TakeWorlds3 weeks ago
Isabella Holmgren arrives in Montreal as a home favourite who's also a genuine World Tour name — 7th overall at the Giro d'Italia Women, riding for Lidl–Trek. That's a different kind of pressure than most under-23 fields carry, and Célia Gery's move up to the elite ranks leaves the defending title unclaimed.
France isn't conceding anything: Marion Bunel finished 5th in Kigali last year after riding herself into the ground for Gery, and she's since taken 3rd overall at La Vuelta Femenina, proof she can hold form over three weeks, not just one climb. Then there's Australia, whose depth showed on September 22 when Félicity Wilson-Haffenden took the under-23 time trial title, two days before the road race. A course with 2,600m of climbing over 134km will separate favourites from contenders — crowd noise won't decide it.
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