Tour de Ski to make French debut as 2026/27 World Cup calendar unveiled

The Cross-Country Committee met on Thursday May 7 at the FIS Spring Meetings in Portorož (SLO).

Among the main items up for discussion was the 2026/27 FIS World Cup calendar which, subject to FIS Council approval, includes significant changes to the Tour de Ski (TdS). For the past two years, the TdS has been shared between Italian venues Toblach and Val di Fiemme.

Next season, the TdS will take in three countries including France for the first time. This is a symbolic stop with the idea for the event coming from cycling’s Tour de France. Starting on January 1 2027, Les Rousses will host the opening three stages having made its World Cup debut four years previously.

The TdS then returns to Obertsdorf for the first time since 2022/23, with two stages at the German resort including the Heat Mass Start Free that was introduced last season. And the race ends with three stages at Val di Fiemme culminating in the traditional Final Climb of Alpe Cermis.

Despite not being part of the TdS, Toblach remains on the calendar with three races scheduled for the end of January. The World Cup Finals will be held in Ulricehamn (SWE) which last staged World Cup races in the 2020/21 season. That will be the one World Cup stop in Sweden with Falun hosting the Nordic Ski World Championships.

The World Cup season gets underway in Ruka (FIN) on November 27. The athletes then go to Trondheim (NOR) and Davos (SUI) which will host the first of two Heat Mass Start Free contests in the campaign.

After the TdS, the World Cup goes to Engadin (SUI), Toblach and Lahti (FIN) before the World Championships. The week after Falun is the Holmenkollen 50km Mass Start Classic in Oslo (NOR) followed by a Drammen (NOR) Sprint Classic and then the Ulricehamn World Cup Finals.

Also announced was Otepää (EST) as the host venue for the FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Championships. These will be held from January 18-24 2027.

Rank penalty for distance races heads list of rule changes

A number of rule changes were examined by the committee with Rank penalty approved for individual distance races. In cases of obstruction with a clear impact on the final result, disqualification was previously the only possible sanction.

Instead of a disqualification, the competition Jury can now decide to issue a Rank penalty, meaning the sanctioned competitor will be placed behind the affected racer. Both will be awarded the time of the affected racer. If more than one skier is affected, the sanctioned competitor will be ranked last in the group. A Rank penalty will always be accompanied by a written reprimand (yellow card).

Another change for distance races is that athletes will be able to change their skis as many times as they like, or not at all, in the pit boxes. Each competitor will still only be able to have one pair of skis in the pit box, but in distance competitions where ski exchange is permitted (e.g., 50km), they can choose whether to ski through or switch back to the previous pair.

Following the inaugural Heat Mass Start Free during last season’s TdS, the committee has decided that the format will take place twice in the next World Cup season. Seeding of athletes to different heats will be decided at the FIS Autumn Meetings.

The final major change for World Cup races comes in terms of the maximum number of athletes a nation is allowed to register. Each nation can now register double their nation's quota per gender for a World Cup weekend. The Continental Cup leader counts as a further additional place.

Elsewhere, Satu Kalajainen has stepped down as Chair of the Youth & Children sub-committee having announced her intention to do so at last year’s Autumn meeting. The Finnish woman is now an honorary member of the Youth & Children sub-committee. The FIS Cross-Country Committee acknowledges her significant commitment and contribution to the development of Cross-Country Skiing.