The start of the women’s 15 k skiathlon at the 2014 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. Falun will serve as the site of the 2015 Nordic World Championships in February. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
Changes are coming to the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) World Cup schedule in the 2014/2015 season. The schedule was confirmed at the 2014 FIS Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, which concluded Friday June 6th. The upcoming season will include the esteemed Tour de Ski and the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. There were also some exciting new developments for North American skiers as the FIS Congress added the Tour du Canada to conclude the 2015/2016 season.
What’s the same:
- The 9th edition of the Tour de Ski will be structured in the same manner as last year with a slight variation in venues. Like the 2013/2014 season, the seven-stage tour will begin in Germany with a 3 k and 4 k freestyle prologue followed by a 9 k and 15 km classic pursuit. Racers will then travel to Switzerland for a freestyle sprint. The final four stops of the Tour will take place in Italy beginning with a 5 k and 10 k classic and a point-to-point 15 k and 35 k freestyle pursuit in Cortina-Toblach. Val di Fiemme will feature a 10 k and 15 k classic and a 9 k and 15 k final climb to conclude the Tour.
What’s different:
- This upcoming season will feature a change in venues and timing for the season’s three-day tour. Traditionally the tour has been held in Ruka, Finland during the last week of November to serve as an opener to the World Cup. In 2014/2015 the tour will instead be held in Lillehammer, Norway during the second week of World Cup skiing.
- The 2014/2015 season will mark the return of several venues including La Clusaz, France, Otepää, Estonia, and Rybinsk, Russia.
- There will be no World Cup Finals to conclude the season. The 2013/2014 season featured Falun, Sweden as the site of the Finals to prepare for the 2015 World Championships. The 2014/2015 season will instead finish in Oslo, Norway with 30 k and 50 k freestyle mass starts.
Other notes:
- The 2015 U23/Junior World Championships will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from February 1st to the 8th.
- The 2015 FIS Nordic World Championships will be held in Falun, Sweden from February 18th to March 1st.
2016 Tour du Canada – FIS Cross Country World Cup
The Canmore Nordic Center will host two stages of the 2016 Tour du Canada. The tour which was recently announced at the FIS Congress in Barcelona, Spain will serve as the finale for the 2015/2016 season.
FIS has made a provisional agreement with Cross Country Canada (CCC) to host a Canadian tour consisting of eight FIS World Cup races in March of 2016.
- The tour will last from March 1st to March 12th and will travel from Gatineau, Québec to Canmore, Alberta.
- Schedule:
- Gatineau, Québec – March 1
- Montréal, Québec – March 2
- Québec – March 4 and 5
- Canmore, Alberta – March 8, 9
- Lake Louise, Alberta – March 11
- Canmore, Alberta – March 12
- Now that the host venues are confirmed CCC and FIS will continue to plan the details of the tour, which will likely include a variety of city sprints, pursuits, and mass starts.
- The Canadian tour will be the last stop of the World Cup in 2015/2016. Without the World Championships or World Cup Finals, the series of stage races will serve as a finale to the season with the FIS crystal globes awarded at the end of the tour. The decision to place the Canadian tour at the end of the season was made in order to increase participation, build excitement, and ease the already tight schedule of the World Cup.