The Tour de Ski goes to Val di Fiemme just over a month before the Olympics. It can be an advantage for those who tour until the end of the Tour even during the Olympic season.
Roope Visuri,
Laura Arffman
VAL DI FIEMME.
There was a stir in Norway earlier this week when it was announced that the legendary 50 km race in Oslo’s Holmenkollen would be removed from the World Cup calendar from early winter 2025.
The reason is the close proximity of the World Championships in Trondheim and the fact that there may not be enough participants for the 50 kilometers right after the World Championships. The decision was widely criticized.
However, the Tour de Ski competitions held in Val di Fiemme are not experiencing the same fate. Val di Fiemme plans to compete in the Tour de Ski from the beginning of 2026, just over a month before the Olympics.
Urheilu was told by the cross-country competition manager of the international skiing federation FIS Michal Lamplot.
According to Lamplot, the decision is not official, but the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme can be found in the draft competition calendar for the 2025-2026 season.
– The International Olympic Committee has given the green light to this, Lamplot told Urheilu.
Some of the athletes will benefit from the decision
It is exceptional that the World Cup is contested only a month before the prestigious games in the same location. Usually, the preliminaries of the value races are a year before the value races in the World Cup.
Normally, in Olympic years, the athletes tour to a lesser extent until the end of the Tour, but now there is a little extra carrot on offer.
Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen according to the decision, those athletes who are comfortable with touring the Tour to the end can get a little advantage.
The famous final climb of Alpe Cermis is not on the Olympic program, but Val di Fiemme is normally contested in the second stage of the Tour. Maintenance crews can also benefit from the proximity of prestigious competitions and Tour de Ski competitions in the same location.
Saarinen sees the biggest burden of the situation on the volunteers organizing the games. 2022 Holmenkollem 50 km winner Martin Löwström Nyenget reacted calmly to the extraordinary competition solution.
– Tour de Ski is an important part of the program, but in the Olympic season the Olympics is the main goal. Many athletes take the Tour less seriously, Nyenget tells Urheilu.
About the organizers of the Val di Fiemme Games Enzo Macor tells Urheilu that the construction work for the Olympics, which will loom two years from now, will begin at the end of January. 85 percent of the old tracks will remain, but at the Olympics the tracks will be skied in a different direction.
The big difference is that the public can watch the races during the Olympics on the ground. This was not the case in Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.
Stadium buildings are also being demolished. The new changing rooms will be underground.
The Cortina-D’Ampezzo Olympic Games are scheduled from February 5 to February 23, 2026.
The Tour de Ski culminates in Val di Fiemme this weekend. On Saturday, the 15-kilometer joint starts will be contested, and on Sunday, the legendary final ascent of Alpe Cermis will be held. You can see the competitions live on !