Victoria Carl wants to return in Trondheim. The FIS points calendar says the Tour de Ski

Victoria Carl’s doping ban ends on 25 November, two days before the World Cup opens in Ruka. She won’t be on the start list there, and she has said she hopes to make her return a week later in Trondheim. The FIS rules make that harder than it sounds.

Carl, the 2022 Olympic team sprint champion, tested positive for clenbuterol in an out-of-competition test in April 2025. She has said it came from a cough medicine a Bundeswehr team doctor prescribed after the Military World Championships. Germany’s sports arbitration court banned her for 18 months, with the provisional suspension she had served since May 2025 counted towards it. She missed all of last season, including the Olympics in Milano Cortina.

“I simply trusted the doctor too much, and I’m extremely angry at myself for having too much trust and not checking one more time,” she told SVT Sport in her first interview with Swedish media since the ban. “I’m just happy that I can race this season again.”

No points, no start

To start a World Cup race, a skier needs 150 FIS points or less on the points list valid for that race. FIS points lapse when an athlete hasn’t raced for more than a year, and Carl hasn’t raced since the spring of 2025. On the current list, the second of 2026/27, she has no distance or sprint points at all.

The plan, as reported by xc-ski.de, is to earn them at the Norwegian Cup in Gålå on 27–29 November, the same weekend as Ruka. One or two strong races would be enough on paper. With fewer than five results, FIS averages what an athlete has and adds a markup: 40 percent for a single result, 30 percent for two. A skier of Carl’s level racing a strong Norwegian field should end up well below 150.

The problem is timing. FIS publishes a new points list every few weeks, and each one has a cut-off date for results:

Dates from the FIS points list schedule.

Results from Gålå come too late for the third list. They first count on the fourth, which takes effect on 24 December. Under the basic rule, Carl’s first possible World Cup start is the Tour de Ski, which opens in Les Rousses on 1 January and visits Oberstdorf on 5–6 January.

The way to Trondheim

The World Cup rules have one way around this. In exceptional circumstances, an athlete who misses the entry requirements can be allowed to start. The national federation must apply in writing at least a week before the event, and the FIS race director decides together with the chairs of the cross-country and World Cup committees. The examples the rules give are top athletes from biathlon and Nordic combined, and comebacks after pregnancy or injury. A return from a doping ban isn’t one of them, though the list isn’t closed.

For Trondheim on 4–6 December, the German federation would have to apply by 27 November, before Carl has raced in Gålå. Whether it will apply hasn’t been reported.

What it means for her season

Whether Carl races in Trondheim depends on FIS, not on her form. Gålå can show she is fast again, but it can’t make her eligible for December on its own. If FIS grants an exception, it will show how far it is willing to stretch a clause written for injuries and pregnancies, and other federations will take note.

The Tour de Ski is the more realistic target. Without an exception, Carl’s season starts at a stage race with a home stop in Oberstdorf. That’s not a bad place to return.

Germany, above all, wants her back for Falun. Teammate Lisa Lohmann told MDR it “definitely makes a difference” to have Carl in the group again. A late start costs her World Cup points, but for Germany the bigger prize is the World Championships in Falun in late February, and Carl will have about seven weeks of racing before them even if she starts at the Tour.