The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...
competition, arranged by the
International Ski Federation
The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
(FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recognition on the 31st FIS Congress, 29–30 April 1977 in
Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
.
The
first World Cup races were held on 9 January 1982 and were located in
Reit im Winkl
Reit im Winkl is a small village (locally known as a snow-magnet ) located on the German/Austrian border in the southeastern part of Bavaria, Germany in the Traunstein district, and was previously an immigration and customs control point (prior ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
and
Klingenthal,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
.
Bill Koch of the United States and
Berit Aunli
Berit Kristine Aunli, née Kvello, (born 9 June 1956) is a Norwegian former cross-country skier. She won her first international championship medal as a member of the Norwegian team that won the bronze medal at the 4 × 5 km relay at the 198 ...
of Norway were the overall winners in the first season.
Rules
Competitors attempt to achieve the most points during the season. They compete in two disciplines: Distance and Sprint. Current Distance races are mostly 10 km, 20 km,
Skiathlon
Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions incl ...
and 50 km for the men and women. The competitions are held with either individual start or
mass start and either
classic or
free technique. In Sprint races, athletes are organised in heats based on their results in a prologue where the 30 fastest skiers qualify for the sprint's quarter-finals. The 12 best skiers in the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals and the 6 best skiers in the semi-finals advance to the final. Sprint races are maximum 1.8 kilometres and are competed in either classic or free technique.
In ordinary World Cup races, 100 points are awarded to the winner, 95 for second place, 90 for third place, winding down to 1 point for 50th place. In Stage World Cup races;
Tour de Ski
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
, World Cup Final and mini-tours, 50 points are awarded to the winner, 47 for second place, 44 for third place, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The overall winners of the Stage World Cup events are awarded 300 points for Tour de Ski victory and 200 points for an overall win in the World Cup Final or a mini-tour. The athlete with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Overall World Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe. Sub-prizes are also awarded to the winners of the Sprint World Cup and the Distance World Cup, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe.
Races are hosted primarily in Europe, with regular stops in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...
and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
. A few races have also been held in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 23 countries around the world: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Soviet Union, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. (Note that all World Cup races hosted in Bosnia were held when it was still part of Yugoslavia.)
Overall World Cup standings
The table below shows the three highest ranked skiers each year.
Men
:a. Unofficial World Cup
:b. Trial World Cup
Source:
Women
:a. Trial World Cup
Source:
*With 6 overall World Cup titles
Bjørn Dæhlie
Bjørn Erlend Dæhlie (born 19 June 1967) is a Norwegian businessman and retired cross-country skier. From 1992 to 1999, Dæhlie won the Nordic World Cup six times, finishing second in 1994 and 1998. Dæhlie won a total of 29 medals in the Olymp ...
is record-holder among both men and ladies.
Sprint World Cup standings
Men
Women
Distance World Cup standings
Men
:a. Arranged under the name of "Long Distance World Cup".
Women
:a. Arranged under the name of "Long Distance World Cup".
U23 World Cup standings
Men
Women
Nations Cup
All results of female and male athletes of a nation are counted for the Nations Cup.
World Cup title winners
Overall titles
Men
Women
Sprint titles
Men
Women
Distance titles
Men
:a. Long Distance World Cup
:b. Middle Distance World Cup
Women
:a. Long Distance World Cup
:b. Middle Distance World Cup
Most World Cup wins
Most successful race winners
Men
Women
*With 84 victories in World Cup and total 114 including Stage World Cup wins Marit Bjørgen is record-holder among both men and women.
World Cup wins by nation
The table below lists those nations which have won at least one individual World Cup race.
Most World Cup podiums, top 10 results and individual starts
Men's career podiums
Men's career top 10s
Men's individual starts
Women's career podiums
Women's career top 10s
Women's individual starts
Season records
Men
Victories per season
Podiums per season
Most points per season
Highest overall advantage
Women
Victories per season
Podiums per season
Most points per season
Highest overall advantage
Consecutive victories and podiums
Men
Consecutive victories
Consecutive podiums
Women
Consecutive victories
Consecutive podiums
Youngest and oldest race winners
Men's youngest winners
Source:
Women's youngest winners
Source:
Men's oldest winners
Source:
Women's oldest winners
Source:
Multi winners
Men's double winners
Women's double winners
World Cup all-time records
Men
Sources:
Women
Sources:
World Cup scoring system
1981/82 season to 2005/06 season
:a. Team sprint discipline was first introduced in
1995/96 season.
2006/07 season to 2021/22
2022/2023 season
:a. Nordic Opening is held annually since
2010/11 season.
:b. World Cup Final is held since
2007/08 season, except
2014/15,
2015/16 and
2019/20 seasons. The stages of its first edition were not counted as a Stage World Cup race, hence no World Cup points were awarded.
:c. Ski Tour 2020 was held only in
2019/20 season.
:d. Tour de Ski is held annually since
2006/07 season. World Cup points were not awarded for the stage races in its first edition.
:e. Ski Tour Canada was held only in
2015/16 season.
:f. Individual World Cup points for places in Relays and Team Sprints since
2020/21 season.
Timeline calendar
World Cup hosts
:a. As Czechoslovakia until 1992.
:b. As Soviet Union until 1991.
:c. As Yugoslavia until 1991.
:d. As Leningrad until 1991.
World Cup Finals
*
2007–08 –
Bormio
Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy.
The centre of the upper Valtellina ...
, Italy
*
2008–09 –
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
/
Falun, Sweden
*
2009–10 – Stockholm / Falun, Sweden
*
2010–11 – Stockholm / Falun, Sweden
*
2011–12 – Stockholm / Falun, Sweden
*
2012–13 – Stockholm / Falun, Sweden
*
2013–14 – Falun, Sweden
*
2014–15 – ''not held''
*
2015–16 –
2016 Ski Tour Canada
*
2016–17 –
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Canada
*
2017–18 – Falun, Sweden
*
2018–19 – Quebec City, Canada
*
2019–20 – ''cancelled''
*
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
– ''cancelled''
*
2021–22 – ''cancelled''
*
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
– ''not held''
See also
*
Tour de Ski
Tour or Tours may refer to:
Travel
* Tourism, travel for pleasure
* Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service
* Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus
* Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
*
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...
Footnotes
References
External links
Cross-Countryat ''FIS-Ski.com''
{{Main world cups
Cross-country skiing competitions
Cross-Country
Cross-Country
Skiing world competitions
Recurring sporting events established in 1981