You’ve likely heard a little something about the World Cup coming to Wirth Park in central Minneapolis for two races in mid-February 2024. You likely also know that there will be four races held in Canmore earlier in that week. But where else is the circuit heading to?
“Nowhere particularly surprising,” is the short answer. But also “to some venues that have not hosted World Cup racing in the last few seasons,” is the rest of the answer. That latter category includes Östersund, Sweden, and Trondheim, Norway, in Period 1; Goms, Switzerland, in Period 3; and Oberhof, Germany, in a non–Tour de Ski context, in Period 3.
Also of note: there are three relays on the schedule, including two “normal” relays and one mixed-gender relay. There is one skiathlon. There are two pursuits, both during the Tour de Ski, one of them pending a technical feasibility study. There are 50km mass start races at Holmenkollen in March for both men and women, classic this time. There are a total of 38 different races on the 2023/2024 schedule, including three relays and one team sprint (and if you count Holmenkollen as two races, which feels defensible because they occur on different days).
Here is the schedule (original PDF here). Racing once again starts with the Ruka Triple over what for American readers is Thanksgiving weekend. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Tiril Udnes Weng, both of Norway, enter the season as the defending overall champions. Russian and Belarusian athletes remain barred for the time being. For all athletes, summer training continues apace.
— Gavin Kentch
