Cross-country skiing has been one of five major sporting events at the Olympic Winter Games since their début in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
One hundred years ago, the programme started with the men's 50 km and 18 km races, while the women's competition (10 km) was held for the first time at Oslo 1952. Over the years, the programme has increasingly grown, and now there are as many as 12 competitions (six for men and six for women) at the Olympics.
Milano Cortina 2026 will witness a great revolution, because, for the first time ever, men and women will compete over the same distances.
So, what competitions will take place at the next Olympic Winter Games?
Competitions
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will include 12 cross-country events:
- 10 + 10 km Skiathlon (men and women)
- Sprint (men and women)
- Team Sprint in Free Technique (men and women)
- 4x7.5 km Relay (men and women)
- 10 km Free Technique (men and women)
- 50 km Classic Technique (men and women)
In cross-country skiing - a branch of the Nordic skiing family of competitions in which athletes use poles, skis and sheer strength to cover long distances - athletes use two techniques. In the classic technique, the athlete's feet move back and forth in a parallel motion, within parallel grooves of snow. While in the free technique - which is faster than the classic technique - athletes move their feet from side to side.
And now, let's go over the different competitions together!
Skiathlon
Skiathlon is certainly one of the most peculiar and fascinating disciplines in cross-country skiing. In this competition, athletes use both the classic and free technique. The men's event takes place over 20 km (with two 10 km sections). In both men's and women's skiathlon, skiers complete the first leg using the classic technique, and the second with the free technique.
Skiathlon is a mass start event in which all athletes start at the same time. It also requires a change of equipment mid-race.
Sprints, Relays and Endurance Competitions
Other free-technique events in Milano Cortina 2026 will include the men's and women's 10 km event, while in Beijing 2022 there were the men's 15 km and women's 10 km competitions.
There will also be two classic technique events, the men's and women's 50 km: two tests of enormous endurance for all skiers involved.
This will be followed by the relays, a fan favourite during the Olympic Games, with men and women competing in the 4x7.5 km. The men's and women's relays consist of teams of four athletes each, who begin with a mass start. Teams use both styles, and the first skier to cross the finish line is the winner.
Classic technique is used for the first two heats, and free technique in the other two.
After the relays, it will be the turn of the men's and women's sprint, in both free and classic technique. In these individual races (1.4 km for men and 1.2 km for women), the sprints resemble those of track and field events. They start with a qualifying round and, from there, the top two finishers in each heat advance from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals, followed by the finals.
The Team Competition
And last but not least, the Milano Cortina 2026 programme will include the men's and women's team sprint in free technique.
In this event, two-athlete teams compete against each other, and skiers complete two laps before switching to their team-mates. This cycle is repeated until both skiers have completed six laps. The team that crosses the finish line first wins. Sparks, excitement and adrenalin galore included with the ticket price!
All cross-country skiing competitions of Milano Cortina 2026 will take place at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, in Tesero, Val di Fiemme.
We went over the ABC of one of the oldest and most beloved winter sports, and an authentic symbol of the Olympic Games. All there is left to know now is the magic and dramatic moments experienced by the athletes, as well as their exciting combinations of power and speed.
