MINNEAPOLIS — The world's best cross-country skiers gathered at Theodore Wirth on Saturday to compete, and the skiing community came out for their athletes.
Race officials believe between 15-20,000 people attended Saturday's races at The Stifel Loppet Cup.
The Stifel Loppet Cup is the first World Cup cross-country race to be held in the United States in more than two decades.
"We want to see Jessie Diggins race," said 10-year-old Maddie Potasek.
"We love everything about her," said Kathy Bishop. "She has worked so hard. She's local. She has won Olympic gold. I think we're proud to have this here."
"We have all this nice white snowed out here to cover up the mud that we had a couple of weeks ago," said Joe Stuber.
The World Cup was scheduled to be held in Minneapolis in 2020, but the pandemic altered plans.
"We've tried to have it here before and now," said Stuber. "Finally it happened."
Anya Joint and Chris Whalen cross-country skied when they went to high school in upstate New York. They were on their honeymoon and decided to see the World Cup and ski the American Birkebeiner.
"Takes us a special kind of person to want to do this stuff in the winter," said Whalen. "We love everybody like that."
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