Anchorage’s Scott Patterson. Photo courtesy of U.S. Ski Team
As longtime professional Nordic skiers, Rosie Brennan and Scott Patterson have a combined 333 World Cup starts.
But never before have they experienced the privilege of racing a World Cup in the United States.
That will finally change this weekend, as the World Cup — contested almost exclusively in Europe with occasional forays into Canada — comes to Wirth Park in Minneapolis for a sprint on Saturday and an interval-start 10-kilometer freestyle race on Sunday.
“After the cancellation in 2020, I think there’s a bit of disbelief that the Minneapolis World Cup is finally here,” Patterson, 32, said Thursday by email.
Said Brennan, 35, at a press conference on Friday: “I’m incredibly proud and grateful to be able to show off our country.”
“The vibe in Minneapolis is awesome!,” gushed Luke Jager, who was 1 year old the last time the U.S. hosted a World Cup. “Everyone is so friendly and so excited for these races to happen, and so are we!”
The last Nordic World Cup in the United States was a pre-Olympic event at Soldier Hollow, Utah, in 2001. Minneapolis had been slated to host in 2020 but the onset of the pandemic forced a last-minute cancellation. Now, finally, Minnesota’s Loppet Foundation can showcase the pinnacle of Nordic skiing for the world to see. About 30,000 spectators are expected over the weekend; most tickets were quickly snapped up last July.
Anchorage’s Rosie Brennan leads the pack in a 20k skate race at the World Cup in Finland. Photo by NordicFocus
And additional snow has arrived just in time. Event organizers, racers and fans were thrilled to wake up to about six inches of fresh snow on Thursday, transforming what had been brown ground surrounded by a narrow ribbon of snow — which was carefully stockpiled and preserved amid a dearth of snow in the Midwest this winter — into a scene more befitting of winter.
“Paired with the sun, it made for a beautiful day on the trails,” Patterson said after touring the rolling trails on the municipal golf course, with Minneapolis’ skyline visible from the high points.
Brennan said the courses don’t have the steepest or longest hills, but the minimal rest due to shorter downhills will be challenging.
“The course preparation has been top notch,” Brennan said. “It will make for some really exciting racing.”
U.S. star Jessie Diggins was vital in helping bring the races to her home state. A team sprint gold medalist with Anchorage’s Kikkan Randall in 2018, Diggins currently leads the overall World Cup and is a race favorite in both events this weekend.
With extra spots (12 per race) made available for the host nation, Diggins headlines a strong U.S. team that includes the following Alaskans or Alaska-affiliated racers:
Sprint and Distance Races:
- Rosie Brennan, 35, Anchorage (a two-time Olympian currently ranked fourth overall in the World Cup)
- Gus Schumacher, 23, Anchorage (a Service High School graduate and Junior World Championships individual gold medalist currently ranked 18th in the World Cup distance standings)
- Michael Earnhart, 21, Eagle River (represents APU and made his World Cup debut in Canmore, Canada last week)
- Luke Jager, 24, Anchorage (the 2022 Olympian skied at West Anchorage High School and the University of Utah; he now represents APU and the U.S. Ski Team)
- Zanden McMullen, 22, Anchorage (graduate of South Anchorage High School with several top-30s in his first true season on the World Cup)
Sprint race only:
- Renae Anderson, 25, Anchorage (a Minnesota native skiing her first season with APU)
- JC Schoonmaker, 23, Anchorage (a Nevada native who graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage and now represents APU and the U.S. Ski Team)
Distance race only:
- Kendall Kramer, 21, Fairbanks (an All-American in running and skiing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; second youngest American to ski a World Cup at age 16)
- Novie McCabe, 22, Anchorage (2022 Olympian and native of the Methow Valley, Wash.)
- Scott Patterson, 32, Anchorage (a two-time Olympian who boasts top-10 finishes at both the Olympics and World Championships)
- Hunter Wonders, 25, Anchorage (represents APU after briefly retiring last season)
- David Norris, 33, Fairbanks (the APU alumnus currently coaches in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and had top 20s at World Championship on his resume)
The races also feature a strong group of foreign skiers racing collegiately in Alaska. Joining Kramer from the UAF Nanooks will be Christopher Kalev and Mariel Pulles of Estonia and Rosie Fordham from Australia.
The University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves qualified Canadians Derek Deuling and Marlie Molinaro along with Australian Tuva Bygrave.
“(It’s an) amazing large group of (college) skiers from Alaska,” UAA coach Trond Flagstad said.
One notable omission is Murphy Kimball of Anchorage. This past week in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, the 17-year became the youngest American man to race a Nordic World Cup. The Alaska Winter Stars and West Anchorage High School racer was originally on the roster for Minneapolis but removed for an undisclosed reason.
Also in town is Kikkan Randall, who will be co-commentating the races for NBC Sports and Skiandsnowboard.live as well as attending a Saturday screening of the new documentary film, titled Kikkan.
The Alaskans best positioned for a run at a top-10 finish (or even the podium) are Schoonmaker, who scored his first-career podium (third place in a sprint) earlier this season and is ranked 13th in the overall sprint standings; Brennan, who has four podium finishes this season; Schumacher, who was in fourth place overall at the Tour de Ski in January before withdrawing due to illness; and Patterson, who recently placed a season-best eighth in a 20K mass start freestyle race in Canmore.
Unfortunately, after the second of four races in Canmore, Patterson became lightheaded while eating breakfast, fell off his chair and hit his head on the ground. He then decided to sit out the 20K classic race.
“I’m confident I have things under control now and started feeling quite normal about 48 hours after the incident,” Patterson said.
Luke Jager
Jager, an ambassador for Healthy Futures/Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, believes the event can have a lasting impact for cross-country skiing.
“It is gonna be so good for the growth of the sport in the US … and hopefully we can get more people out enjoying the winter!,” Jager said.
Dozens of Alaskans, including this reporter, have made the trip to Minneapolis. Jager’s parents, Jim Jager and Amy Johns, are among them.
“I have a lot of family in Minneapolis, so I’m really excited that they are going to get to see the World Cup craziness!,” Luke said.