MINNEAPOLIS — There were no big stakes on the line for World Cup cross country skiers as they began practice at Theodore Wirth Park on Friday, but it was still a big deal for the fans who gathered along Minnesota's first-ever World Cup course.
"Oh my god it's such a big deal," said Beckie Alexander, of Minneapolis, who dressed up in a blue wig and cheered as skiers passed by during practice. "We have been waiting for this forever. I grew up on the other side of this hill, skiing and racing here since I was eight."
Alexander's friend, Toni Sparrow, has also waited a long time, and traveled a lot farther to get here.
"Toni flew in from Anchorage," Alexander said. "She also flew in four years ago, for this race and then it was shut down."
The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for that last minute cancellation in 2020.
"It was very disappointing," Sparrow said.
Up until recently, she and everyone else was bracing for yet another disappointment. The record warm winter had organizers from the Loppet Foundation scrambling to make snow and even cover it as rain threatened to wreck the course last week.
"Really, until yesterday, we had no snow except for the race course," said Loppet Executive Director Claire Wilson, as she spoke to an international television crew on Friday. "Clearly the universe also want this race in Minneapolis."
For the dozens of foreign press members that just flew into town, it's hard to grasp just how drastic the transformation has been.
"People sent me photos like, this is the trail, and it was brown and I was like 'Oh my god. Is this what we're coming to,'" said Johana Ojala, who is part of the World Cup broadcast team for Via Play Sweden. "Then the snow fall happened and I'm very glad for that because everything is really beautiful right now."
Ojala says the timing couldn't be better for some big international audiences who will be tuning in for the races this weekend.
"In one weekend, for one race, we could have a million viewers in Sweden," Ojala said. "And that's quite good because we're a country of ten million. Cross country skiing in Sweden, is like a heart sport I would say. It's something that you've really grown up with."
Cross country skiing — and Theodore Wirth Park — couldn't be closer to the heart of Minnesota's Jessie Diggins, who has been pushing for this event for more than six years.
"I mean the last time I raced here, in the entire state of Minnesota, I was 19 years old," Diggins said. "It definitely feels like a really awesome dream."
Diggins isn't the only one excited to ski in a World Cup on home soil for the first time.
"Can you imagine any other country having to wait this long for their home world cup?" said Julia Kern, another member of the US Cross Country Ski Team. "And it's all unleashed in a weekend. Get ready. Brace yourself because I think it's going to be a heck of a time."
To that, Alexander and Sparrow say, 'You betcha.'
"Tomorrow there's going to be face paint, there's going to be glitter and there's going to be a lot of 'GO USA!'" Sparrow said. "It should be so fun."
The U.S. team isn't just excited about all the extra cheering this weekend because the event is in Minnesota, the team also gets extra entries — there are more than 30 athletes competing — many getting their first ever World Cup.
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