The inside story of a local Olympic legend, a local charter bus company and the international Stiffel Loppet World Cup Cross Country Skiing event
Jesse Diggins of Afton, Minnesota, is “one of the most dominant and successful cross country skiers in the world,” according to the US Ski Team. Her accomplishments include 13 years on the team, three Olympic medals, and Overall World Cup Champion in 2023.
As the first U.S. Olympian ever to win a cross country skiing title, her strongest wish was that a world cup event be held in Minnesota. In fact, the United States has only hosted a World Cup event a few times, and not once in the last 23 years.
But all that changed last February. Six years after she made her request for a World Cup cross-country event, Jesse’s dream was realized: The STIFEL Loppet World Cup was held in February at Theodore Wirth Park.
An electric event - with charter transportation challenges
The environment was electric and captivated the attention of the entire sport. But the venue had limitations, and with more than 20,000 daily attendees, transportation was a critical component. This is where Lorenz entered the equation, and we were proud to provide charter transportation solutions that made the event a success.
Moving athletes, officials, spectators…
With international team participants arriving at the MSP airport over several days, Lorenz Bus Service provided meet and greet service, escorted the teams to the charter bus area at the airport, and used motor coaches to get them to their hotels for some much-needed rest. Other key aspects of the event included:
- Charter School buses transported more than 4,000 spectators and attendees between the Resideo Headquarters and the event.
- 56-Passenger Motor Coaches provided shuttle service to transport all teams between the host hotels and Theodore Wirth Park.
- Low-floor Handicapped Accessible Transit buses provided shuttle service between the Mortenson parking ramp and the trailhead.
- Mini buses shuttled sponsors and VIPs between the Four Seasons Minneapolis and Theodore Wirth Park.
…and all the gear
An event of this size requires moving significant amounts of gear to the right place at the right time. Some examples:
- Equipment trucks transported team equipment between wax cabins (cross-country skiers still use wax to optimize performance) and the airport.
- All bags were tagged and transported to the charter bus area. We utilized carts and porter service to get the gear from the Silver Ramp into the check-in gates.
- Lorenz project managers spent hundreds of hours planning, mapping, timing, and driving routes to ensure service that is equal to cross country skiing’s biggest stage.
Praise from from the athletes
“The course and all the people: it was so much fun to race out there,” said Johannes Hosflot Klaebo, one of Norway’s most decorated cross-country skiers. “I wish this could be part of the World Cup circuit every season. We need to come back here, that’s for sure. I’ll just cheer a little extra for Jesse Diggins tomorrow.”