Bianco 37th at World Cup race

Ely standout gets boost from big fan following at Minneapolis event

by Tom Coombe

It it’s possible to have a home course advantage in a World Cup skiing event, Ely’s Erin Bianco had it last weekend in Minneapolis.

The former Timberwolf standout was buoyed by a throng of supporters, including family and friends, and both current and former Elyites while she took part in a World Cup event at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Skiing against some of the world’s best skiers and representing the United States in the event, Bianco placed 37th in the World Cup sprint qualifier.

Her time was 3:29.76.

While that wasn’t fast enough to make the finals, it was fifth-best among United State skiers in the event.

Leading the way for the U.S. was Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins, who was the runner-up with a time of 3:14.36.

Bianco, who skis professionally for a Montana-based team, qualified to represent the United States at a pair of World Cup events in January - one in Germany and another in Switzerland.

She took 30th at a sprint race in Germany but a fall in a relay race knocked her out of the sprints that were held Jan. 26-28 at Goms, Switzerland.

Bianco also took part in a World Cup event at Canmore, Canada in February. She qualified for the World Cup based on her performance in a 1.5-kilometer sprint competition at the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Nationals, held in January at Soldier Hollow, Utah.

In 2023, Bianco joined the professional Bridger Ski Foundation, based out of Bozeman, Mont. Bianco was an NCAA national qualifier for Colby College in Maine, where she graduated with a sociology degree.