The best cross country skiers in the world will be found at Theodore Wirth in Golden Valley on Feb. 17-18, including two Stillwater Area High School graduates.
The COOP FIS Cross Country World Cup, which features Olympians and aspiring Olympians, is expected to draw 30,000-35,000 people to the area.
Jessie Diggins has become a three-time Olympic medalist and this country’s most decorated athlete in the sport since wrapping up her third and final individual state championship for the Ponies in 2010. Emma Albrecht, a 2019 SAHS graduate and senior competing for the Montana State University skiing team, is also scheduled to compete in the first World Cup races to take place in the United States since 2001.
The Minnesota stop comes on the heels of two World Cup races in Canmore, Canada, on Feb. 9-13. As one of the host countries, the United States receives some additional spots and Albrecht earned a spot on the U.S. Team.
But they are not the only athletes with local ties competing.
Bloomington native and U.S. Ski team member Zak Ketterson and Plymouth native Alayna Sonnesyn are both scheduled to compete, along with Renae Anderson, who grew up in Golden Valley.
They’ll be competing in the freestyle sprint race on Saturday, Feb. 17. The 10-kilometer interval start freestyle race will follow on Sunday, Feb. 18.
“I think it’s the perfect race for the venue. People will be able to line the course and see all the action. I think this whole experience is probably the coolest thing I’ve done so far,” Ketterson said. “My family gets to come watch. Some of my high school friends get to see what the heck I actually do.”
Most of the World Cup races are in Europe, but “The Midwest has such a passionate ski community,” said Anderson, who says this race is probably the biggest of her career. “It feels right to be here.”
Organizers were sweating the last few weeks leading up to the event, needing enough snow for a 3.3-kilometer course on Saturday and the 10k on Sunday.
With more rain than snow and temperatures recently reaching the 50s, the Loppet Foundation, a nonprofit that is organizing the event and operates out of Theodore Wirth Park, has been battling nature all winter.
The foundation appears to be winning. Following the warm up last week, Development Director Anne Olson said, “Yes, we have enough snow that we should be good to go. We have blankets laid out in certain places to help protect the snow from any rainfall (on Feb. 8). We may be able to make some additional snow late this week if the weather allows.”
Sonnesyn isn’t worried about the conditions.
“I think the community is going to make Wirth shine no matter what,” she said. “We are accustomed to whatever is thrown at us. Pristine fresh snow, man-made old dirty snow, we’ve seen it.”
Continuing to defy nature, the organization has been making snow for years.
“We couldn’t have gotten this bid without our ability to make man-made snow,” said Claire Wilson, executive director of the Loppet Foundation.
It’s been years of work for the Loppet staff, community, and volunteers to pull this off, but they believe it will be worth it.
“We get to showcase this park on an international stage. This beautiful park that’s the size of Central Park,” Wilson said. “Those athletes don’t really get to compete at events like this that are so close to the metro. That Minneapolis skyline will be catching their attention at every turn.”
This is also the first time a World Cup race will be held in the United States in 20 years.
It’s not like they didn’t try.
In 2020, the World Cup Sprint Finals were scheduled to be held at Theodore Wirth until getting canceled a week before its mid-March date due to the COVID-19. While disappointing, the experience helped pave the way for a second chance.
They had to petition the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS, to host the race again. While the FIS was familiar with the course, the Loppet still needed to rally volunteers, find sponsors, and organize.
“Ironically, we lobbied for February this time,” Wilson said. “I wanted to do it when we could guarantee snow and cold weather. We all know how that turned out.”
After the race, it’s back to Europe for many of the competitors. The Theodore Wirth stop is among about 30 World Cup races that happen between November and March.
Wilson expects the event to bring tens of thousands of people to the west metro.
“We have ticket holders from just about every state,” she said. “I expect the local hotels and restaurants to be full.”
Attendees can expect a celebration.
“We’ll have a family fun zone, food trucks, a beer garden, and an opportunity to see the world’s best skiers. We’ll have bleachers and cheer zones. People can grab flags and we have plenty of glitter (one of Diggins’ trademarks),” Wilson said.
Free tickets were claimed almost immediately when they were made available last year, but Wilson said there are some VIP tickets still available as of last week.
For those who don’t have tickets, there will be a free Share Winter Playday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, at the Trailhead featuring a family fun zone, gear demos, food trucks, activities, vendors, dancing, and more. Attendees may even get an autograph from their favorite skier.
While the Monday activity day is free to attend, the Loppet would appreciate an RSVP. Those who do will be entered into a raffle.
Wilson also hopes this won’t be the last time people visit Theodore Wirth Park. The Loppet Foundation puts on several programs throughout the year.
“We’re committed to connecting people to the outdoors,” Wilson said. “We try to get people to play outside and promote the park and the Trailhead. It’s a great place for a meal. You can sit on the patio and be close to nature. You can do really anything here from racing, biking, walking, skiing to meditating.”
For more information, visit loppetcup.com.
Races on both days will be streamed live via watch.outsideonline.com. Saturday’s race will be shown on tape delay on CNBC at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Diggins on a roll
Diggins returns to her home state after claiming her 20th World Cup victory and 58th World Cup podium in the 15-kilometer freestyle race in Canmore, Canada, on Feb. 9. The Afton native finished about three seconds ahead of runner-up Delphine Claudel (40:28.6) of France and Heidi Weng (40.29.3) of Norway.
It was the fifth individual victory this season for Diggins, who surpassed former gold-medal teammate Kikkan Randall for most wins for a U.S. skier in a single season.
Diggins currently leads the individual World Cup standings in the distance and overall divisions. She ranks fourth in the sprint category.
In 2020-21, Diggins became the first and only American woman to win the overall FIS World Cup title.
Andy Rogers is senior editor of APG’s Sun Sailor and Sun Post newspapers.
Stuart Groskreutz contributed to this story.
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