If you live in the Mankato area, you don’t have to travel far to see elite athletes.

In late July, the Minnesota Vikings will make their annual trek here for training camp. While football practices aren’t nearly as exciting as games, it’s a great chance to see world-class athletes preparing for a grueling season.

Up close, it only took a passing glance during his first workout at Minnesota State University to realize that Adrian Peterson had the chance to be something special. This summer, we just might get to see a three-time MVP — some guy named Favre — throwing bullets around Blakeslee.

For baseball fans, the Mankato MoonDogs might not be the major leagues, but there have been Northwoods League players here who have gone on to “the show,” most notably former Mankato Mashers outfielder and current Detroit Tigers star Curtis Granderson.

When late fall and winter arrive, we have Division I hockey. Minnesota State has been nearly filling up the Alltel Center on a regular basis the last couple of seasons. Last season, the Mavericks scored their first-ever weekend sweep over the mighty Minnesota Gophers, while, at the same time, five of MSU’s alumni were playing in the National Hockey League.

Across town, in a smaller, less-boisterous ice arena, a pair of curlers — Todd Birr and Kevin Birr — prepared for the U.S. Olympic Trials. While the brothers did not qualify for next winter’s Olympics, they did win the national title two years ago and took third in the world championships, securing their place among the best of their sport.

On Thursday and Friday, fastpitch softball fans got to watch the state’s best teams competing, as they do every year, for state championships at Caswell Park. And before you think those players aren’t elite, you needed to look no further than New Life Academy pitcher Danielle Schmidt. Schmidt struck out a record 32 Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial batters during their 11-inning first-round matchup on Thursday and finished the Class A tournament with a record 55 strikeouts — and a championship.

That’s a pretty impressive list of top-notch athletes who come our way every year.

But perhaps the best athletes of all to hit Mankato come here in the middle of June, and they’ll be here on Saturday afternoon.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is considered the top women’s pro race and the No. 2 men’s race in the United States, and its 300 competitors are an impressive bunch.

As has been the case for the last few years, the Mankato Road Race is the fourth day of the five-day stage race (the Grand Prix begins Wednesday in St. Paul). It’s the longest stage of the event, covering 88 miles, including the downtown finishing circuit in which the riders wrap up the day with four trips up Main Street hill.

With all I’ve seen covering sports in Mankato — from how’d-he-do-that? goals to highlight-reel saves, from Culpepper-to-Moss bombs to Jared Allen rushes, from long home runs at the Frank to rise balls at Caswell — nothing’s been quite as impressive as watching a group of 100 riders riding wheel to wheel at 30 mph along windy Blue Earth County roads or witnessing Kristin Armstrong crush the competition and lapping the pack on Main Street.

Don’t believe me?

Well, you don’t have to go far to find out for yourself.