It was decided when the cross-country committee of the International Skiing and Snowboarding Federation (FIS) met in Slovenian Portoroz on Wednesday.
The World Cup races in Kollen next season will be added to March 15 and 16. It is the weekend after the WC in Trondheim has ended.
There has been controversy surrounding the plans to scrap the traditional five-mile race in Holmenkollen on the schedule for 2024/25. FIS has not wanted a new and demanding five-mile race the week after the runners have been out at the same distance in the WC.
Now the decision has been made to enter a shorter race in Kollen.
I believe in five miles in 2026
On Saturday 15 March there will be a 20 kilometer joint start in free technique, while it is ready for a 10 kilometer classic with an individual start on Sunday 16 March.
– It will be fantastic with the World Cup weekend in Holmenkollen right after the WC. We will have two days of exciting competitions, says national team manager in cross-country skiing, Ulf Morten Aune, to NTB.
He also sits on the World Cup committee in cross-country skiing for the Norwegian Ski Association.
– Very good work has been done to get the World Cup race in Holmenkollen in 2025 in cross-country skiing. Now the WC heroes in cross-country skiing come straight to Holmenkollen from Granåsen, and the public can meet the new world champions up close, says general manager of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, Stefan Marx.
– We have to look into the details of the concept, but we are very happy to have raced on Saturday and Sunday. In 2026, it will be a normal year when the five thousand is back on the schedule list, he adds.
Ski profiles disagree
Several skiing profiles, including Astrid Øyre Slind, have simultaneously expressed fear that the Kollen five-mile could be history when it did not get a place on the schedule in 2025.
– This is a race we have to take care of, I think. It is so rare that we have such a framework around skiing. I didn’t think along the way that we should rather walk three miles, Slind told NTB after the winter edition.
Heidi Weng is one of several runners who are very critical of going as far as five miles. FIS has decided that men and women must walk the same distances.
The critics against the five thousand have also pointed to a fear of low participation. 39 runners were at the start when Frida Karlsson won in Kollen in March.
(© NTB)
