The single biggest race week of the year is upon us. Athletes will travel from around the world to make it to the start line. Weather conditions may prove challenging, but the show must go on. Thousands of hours of training will come to fruition on one race day, the results of which will be obsessed over at length in retold stories.
But enough about the Birkie.
Seriously, though, 2023 FIS Cross Country World Ski Championships kick off in earnest tomorrow in Planica, Slovenia. The American Birkebeiner is, of course, on the last Saturday in February in Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin, with the Kortelopet on Friday over the latter part of this route. Here are full details on both this year’s Birkie, and on the first four days of this year’s World Champs (a part two viewing guide for the second half of World Champs will follow early next week).
43rd FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Planica, Slovenia (local time at venue: GMT +1, six hours ahead of East Coast Time)
| date | race | time (AK) | time (EST) | results |
| Thursday, Feb. 23 | W classic sprint | article | ||
| M classic sprint | article | |||
| Friday, Feb. 24 | M 30km skiathlon | article | ||
| Saturday, Feb. 25 | W 15km skiathlon | 4 a.m. | 8 a.m. | here |
| Sunday, Feb. 26 | sk team sprint qual | 1:30 a.m. | 5:30 a.m. | here |
| sk team sprint final | 3:30 a.m. | 7:30 a.m. | here |
Need help viewing the races from the U.S.? Here’s our full article on how to watch.
49th American Birkebeiner, Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin, and associated events (local time at venue: Central Time)
| date | race | time (CST) | results |
| Friday, Feb. 24 | Kortelopet | ||
| M elite skate wave | 10:15 a.m. | here | |
| W elite skate wave | 10:25 a.m. | here | |
| elite classic wave | 10:35 a.m. | here | |
| other waves | 10:40 a.m.ff. | here | |
| Saturday, Feb. 25 | Birkebeiner | ||
| W elite skate wave | 8:30 a.m. | here | |
| elite classic wave | 8:35 a.m. | here | |
| wave 1 classic | 8:40 a.m. | here | |
| M elite skate wave | 8:50 a.m. | here | |
| wave 1 skate | 8:55 a.m. | here | |
| other waves | 9 a.m.ff. | here |
Streaming (video): here or here; free. Starts at 9:25 a.m. on Friday for the Korte, 8 a.m. Saturday for the Birkie. Expect songs.
Live coverage (audio): online livestream for the one and only WOJB Woodland Community Radio here (main station page here if that doesn’t work).
Participant tracking: download the app here, then set up under “2023 Birkie.” Wait till your athlete passes through the first timing checkpoint for useable data.
Results: all races here, Birkie and Korte skate linked in in table above.
Good luck to all racers, in Birkieland and beyond.
— Gavin Kentch
