Women and men both on track as Holmenkollen 50km returns

Returning to the schedule after a one-year absence, the 50 km Mass Start in Oslo (NOR) on Saturday 14 March is set to be one of the highlights of the 2025-26 FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup season.

Known for its electric atmosphere generated by the thousands of passionate spectators who line the course at the Holmenkollen National Arena, this legendary race will benefit from a new format this season.

Not only will both the Men’s and Women’s 50km Free technique take place on the same day for the first time since the women’s event was extended from 30km to 50km in 2023, but they will also overlap.

The men will start first at 10:00 local time, 45 minutes ahead of the women, meaning that, in part, the races will be on the course at the same time.

Across three hours of non-stop racing, fans will have the chance to see the athletes pass by 12 times as they negotiate six laps of the 8.3km course, making it a true celebration of endurance, strategy and excitement. Each skier has the opportunity to change their skis once in the stadium after completing a full 8.3km lap..

“First of all its fantastic to have the 50km back on the calendar,” FIS Cross-Country Skiing Race Director Michal Lamplot said. “The Holmenkollen 50km is iconic, steeped in history and tradition. And for the first time, women and men will race on the same day. That will allow both competitions to experience the electrifying atmosphere that makes Holmenkollen such a special place.”

The Holmenkollen 50K was first raced in 1898 and became one of the most important competitions of the World Cup season. Multiple winners of the race include some of the biggest name in men’s cross-country skiing, such as Gunde Svan (SWE) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR).

Incredibly, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) – the sport’s undisputed GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) after winning six gold medals at the Milano Cortina Olympics Winter Games – has only won the race once. The Oslo-born superstar led a Norwegian clean sweep in 2024, the last time the Holmenkollen 50km was raced.

The women’s event was introduced for the 2022-23 season when World Cup races distances were brought in line with the men. Double Olympic champion Ragnhild Gløersen Haga (NOR) was the winner, shortly before announcing her retirement from the sport.

The following year, Frida Karlsson (SWE) led compatriot Ebba Andersson home, having won her first World Cup race as a teenager at the same venue over 30km in 2020.

It was Andersson who claimed gold in the maiden Olympic Women’s 50km event at Milano Cortina 2026, but the Holmenkollen crowd will be hoping the Swedish women don’t have it all their own way, with Norwegian distance specialists Heidi Weng and Astrid Oeyre Slind intent on sending the home fans home happy.