The World Cup season is around the corner, and it’s adding a new stop.
Already the site of the annual Transjurassienne ski marathon and recent host of the nordic combined and ski jumping events at the Youth Olympic Games in 2020, Les Rousses, France is ready to put on the country’s first cross-country World Cup since 2016. As stated in a FIS press release, recently, the FIS cross-country World Cup team met up at the venue for a summer inspection. Also in attendance were local organizers, representatives of the French Ski Federation and TV rights holder, Infront, as the group visited and discussed the existing settings.
Scheduled for January 14th – 16th 2022, the three-day event will include a sprint, individual 10/15 k, and pursuit stage. Located near the French-Swiss border in the Haut-Jura region of France, recent course adaptations to the “Stade Nordique des Tuffes” have launched the site into one of the regions top nordic training centers.
The last cross country World Cup in France was held in La Clusaz in 2016, where American Erik Bjornsen posted a 20th place finish in the 15k freestyle mass start event.
Hosting high-level winter sport events is not uncharted territory in France. Annecy-Le Grand Bornand hosts the IBU biathlon World Cup annually and has become both a fan and athlete favorite.
Despite ever-changing pandemic rules and restrictions, venue manager Nicolas Michaud is hopeful to be able to host the event with a number of spectators. Since much of the region’s identity is based in winter sports, Les Rousses promises to be one of the great spectator events in central Europe.
Ella Hall
Growing up in Washington’s Methow Valley, Ella was immersed in skiing and the ski community from a young age. From early days bundled in the pulk, to learning to ski as soon as she could walk, to junior racing, a few seasons of collegiate racing, and then to coaching, she has experienced the ski world in many forms. Now, as a recent graduate from Dartmouth College, she finds herself living in France splitting her time between teaching English at a university in Lyon, avidly following ski racing (and now writing about it!) and adventuring in the outdoors as often as possible.
