Tickets are now on sale for the Stifel Lake Placid Finals, a Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup, set for March 20-22, 2026, at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, New York. This landmark event marks the first Cross-Country World Cup Finals ever held in the United States and the long-awaited return of World Cup racing to Lake Placid, a first since 1979. The Stifel Lake Placid Finals will close out the 2025-26 World Cup season with marquee races for men and women.
World Cup races will start on Friday, March 20, with the 10-kilometer Interval Start Classic. On Saturday, March 21, the Sprint Freestyle race will be held, and the races will conclude on Sunday, March 22, with the 20-kilometer Mass Start Freestyle. “Lake Placid has a proud tradition of hosting world-class winter sports, and the Stifel Lake Placid Finals is another exciting chapter in that story. This event brings the world’s best cross-country skiers to our community. It showcases the beauty and spirit of the Adirondacks,” Darcy Rowe Norfolk, Head of Communications and Spokesperson for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, said in an email to SnowBrains.
The World Cup Finals should bring out some of the best cross-country skiing athletes from around the world, like Jessie Diggins, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, and Jonna Sundling. The American, Diggins, is a three-time Olympic medalist and has won at every level of the sport, three overall World Cup titles, seven World Championships medals, and two Tour de Ski victories. Norway’s Klæbo is a five-time Crystal Globe winner and has five Olympic gold medals and 18 World Championships golds to his credit. 28-year-old Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has dominated men’s cross-country skiing for the last decade. Sweden’s Jonna Sundling won three Olympic medals in Beijing in 2022.
Lake Placid, which hosted the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games, becomes only the second U.S. venue since 2001 to stage an FIS Cross-Country World Cup event, following the 2024 Loppet Cup in Minneapolis. The season’s Crystal Globes will be awarded to the overall World Cup standings leaders following the races in Lake Placid. “As the final event of the World Cup season and following the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the Stifel Lake Placid Finals serve as a testament to the dedication and growth of athletes worldwide. It’s a celebration of the sport’s evolution and a culmination of the hard work invested throughout the season,” Norfolk said.
The Stifel Lake Placid Finals will take place on the trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, site of Nordic skiing and sliding competitions during the 1980 Winter Games. Now a modern multi-sport complex, the venue features 55 kilometers (34 miles) of groomed cross-country skiing trails, a homologated World Cup stadium, state-of-the-art snowmaking infrastructure, and the 55,000-square-foot Mountain Pass Lodge. Recent upgrades have allowed Mt Van Hoevenberg to host major events such as the 2023 FISU World University Games, NCAA Championships, and last year’s U.S. SuperTour Finals.
“Events like the Stifel Lake Placid Finals also inspire the next generation of athletes. Seeing world-class skiers compete in our backyard motivates young people in our community to dream big and embrace the possibilities of winter sport,” Norfolk said. The Stifel Lake Placid Finals promise not just elite competition but a vibrant spectacle that unites global fans, local communities, and aspiring skiers. This historic event offers a rare chance to witness Crystal Globe presentations and great athletes like Diggins, Klæbo, and Sundling.
