Viessmann FIS World Cup Cross-Country 2007/2008
Preview
Tue, Sep 25, 2007 - By Tour de Ski
The FIS Council approved the calendar for the 26th FIS World Cup Cross-Country season already during the FIS Calendar Conference in Portoroz (SLO) in May. In the coming season, where no Olympic Games and World Championships will take place, the World Cup will include a total of 27 World Cup races per gender (both the Tour de Ski and the FIS World Cup Final count as one competition) on two different continents (Europe and North America).
For the sixth time, the season kick-off will be on the River Rhine in the German metropolis Duesseldorf (GER, 27th/28th October). After the regular every-two-years stop in Beitostoelen (NOR, 24th/25th November), the Cross-Country World Cup athletes will move to the Nordic Opening, which will take place for the sixth time at Ruka in Kuusamo (FIN, 1st/2nd December). That is one of only three times that all the Nordic disciplines hold World Cup competitions simultaneously at the same venue, the others being Lahti (FIN) and Oslo (NOR).
In December, the calendar features competitions at Davos (SUI) and, for the second time after the successful premiere last season, Rybinsk (RUS).
After the Tour de Ski, the World Cup returns to Canada with competitions in Canmore, the Olympic Venue of 1988. In February, the traditional site of Otepää (EST) is on the schedule as well as the Pre-World Championships in Liberec (CZE). The Liberec races will represent the first time that the new courses in ‘Vesec' - situated south-west of Liberec - will be used in the World Cup.
The last third of the season includes the traditional Word Cup venues in the North, such as Falun, Stockholm, Lahti, Drammen and Oslo. The Northern Tour will be one of the highlights for the National Ski Associations of Sweden, Finland and Norway all of which celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2008. The season 2007/2008 will conclude in Bormio (ITA), where beside Cross-Country also Alpine, Freestyle and Snowboard will have their FIS World Cup finals. The races will be held in Santa Caterina, where a World Cup last took place in 2000. As an additional season highlight, the finals will be staged as a World Cup Final, or a mini competition series.
Related (PDFs):