The 2026/27 season at a glance: Ruka, the Tour de Ski, Falun and why it matters

The 2026/27 Cross-Country World Cup starts in Ruka, Finland, on Friday 27 November and ends in Ulricehamn, Sweden, on Sunday 21 March. Along the way come twelve World Cup venues, a reshaped Tour de Ski and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, from 22 February to 7 March 2027. Here is the season at a glance, and why some weekends will matter more than others.

The calendar

FIS approved the 2026/27 calendar at its autumn meetings with a single change from the version proposed in the spring: in Davos, the Team Sprint and the 5 km Heat Mass Start have swapped days.

Period I – the opening block

• Ruka (FIN), 27–29 Nov: 10 km Interval Start Classic, Sprint Classic, 20 km Mass Start Free
• Trondheim (NOR), 4–6 Dec: 10 km Interval Start Classic, Sprint Free, 20 km Skiathlon
• Davos (SUI), 11–13 Dec: Team Sprint Free (Friday), Sprint Free (Saturday), 5 km Heat Mass Start Free (Sunday)

Period II – Tour de Ski, 1–10 Jan

• Les Rousses (FRA): Sprint Classic, 20 km Mass Start Classic, 15 km Pursuit Free
• Oberstdorf (GER): 15 km Mass Start Classic, 5 km Heat Mass Start Free
• Val di Fiemme (ITA): 15 km Skiathlon, Sprint Free, and a 10 km Mass Start Free that finishes on the Alpe Cermis Final Climb

Period III – the run-in to Falun

• Engadin (SUI), 22–24 Jan: 4x5 km Mixed Relay, Sprint Free, 20 km Mass Start Free
• Toblach (ITA), 29–31 Jan: 10 km Interval Start Free, Sprint Free, 20 km Mass Start Classic
• Lahti (FIN), 12–14 Feb: Sprint Classic, 20 km Skiathlon, 10 km Interval Start Classic

World Championships: Falun (SWE), 22 Feb–7 Mar 2027

Period IV – the finish

• Oslo Holmenkollen (NOR), 13–14 Mar: men’s and women’s 50 km Mass Start Classic
• Drammen (NOR), 16 Mar: Sprint Classic
• Ulricehamn (SWE), 19–21 Mar, World Cup Finals: 10 km Interval Start Free, Sprint Free, 20 km Mass Start Classic

There are no North American stops this season. Lake Placid hosted the 2025/26 finale, but the 2026/27 calendar stays entirely in Europe.

What’s new

The Tour de Ski goes to France. The last two editions were split between Toblach and Val di Fiemme. This one visits three countries. Les Rousses hosts the first three stages, which FIS describes as a nod to the Tour de France, where the idea for the event came from. Oberstdorf returns for the first time since 2022/23, and Val di Fiemme keeps the traditional Final Climb finish. Toblach stays on the calendar as a regular World Cup weekend at the end of January.

Two Heat Mass Starts. The 5 km Heat Mass Start Free, introduced last season, appears twice: in Davos and as a Tour stage in Oberstdorf. FIS says athletes will be assigned to heats the same way as in the last edition.

Time limits instead of lapping. FIS has proposed that when poor snow forces shorter laps in Tour de Ski mass starts, skiathlons and pursuits, the jury may apply time limits instead of the overlapping rule. The proposal has gone to the FIS Council for final approval.

Sweden’s double. Falun hosts the World Championships, and Ulricehamn, which last staged World Cup races in 2020/21, hosts the Finals. Ulricehamn is the season’s only World Cup stop in Sweden.

What’s at stake – our analysis

This section is analysis, not reporting.

Falun splits the season in two. The World Cup awards a Crystal Globe for consistency over the whole winter, while the World Championships award medals for three good weeks. Because Falun falls between Lahti and Holmenkollen, athletes and coaches have to decide how hard to chase World Cup points in January. Expect some top names to skip parts of Period III.

The Tour tests how complete a skier is. The 2026/27 Tour opens with two classic races in Les Rousses, a sprint and a mass start, then a free pursuit. Next comes a short Heat Mass Start, and finally the climb. A pure sprinter can’t defend a lead on the Cermis, and a pure distance skier will lose seconds in the sprints at Les Rousses and Val di Fiemme. The overall winner is likely to be the most complete skier rather than the fastest one.

The women’s Overall Globe has no favourite. Jessie Diggins retired after winning three straight Overall Globes. That leaves the women’s tour without a defending overall champion for the first time in years, and makes the title the most open race of the season. We look at it in detail in a separate piece.

For the men, the question is whether anyone can close the gap. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo swept the Overall, Sprint and Distance Globes in 2025/26 and won six Olympic golds out of six. The more interesting storyline may be who becomes his most consistent challenger.

Ruka sets the tone. An opening weekend decides no globes, but it shows who has come out of the summer in form. Ruka holds two classic races before the free mass start, so strong classic skiers are rewarded from the first day.

How we’ll cover it

XC Ski News will publish a preview before every World Cup weekend and a recap after each race day, in English and German, plus a build-up series for Falun. Results come from FIS, and every article lists its sources.