The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recognition on the 31st FIS Congress, 29–30 April 1977 in Bariloche, Argentina.
The first World Cup races were held on 9 January 1982 and were located in Reit im Winkl, West Germany and Klingenthal, East Germany. Bill Koch of the United States and Berit Aunli of Norway were the overall winners in the first season.
Competitors attempt to achieve the most points during the season. They compete in two disciplines: Distance and Sprint. Current Distance races are mostly 10 km, 20 km, Skiathlon and 50 km for the men and women. The competitions are held with either individual start or mass start and either classic or free technique. In Sprint races, athletes are organised in heats based on their results in a prologue where the 30 fastest skiers qualify for the sprint's quarter-finals. The 12 best skiers in the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals and the 6 best skiers in the semi-finals advance to the final. Sprint races are maximum 1.8 kilometres and are competed in either classic or free technique.
In ordinary World Cup races, 100 points are awarded to the winner, 95 for second place, 90 for third place, winding down to 1 point for 50th place. In Stage World Cup races; Tour de Ski, World Cup Final and mini-tours, 50 points are awarded to the winner, 47 for second place, 44 for third place, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The overall winners of the Stage World Cup events are awarded 300 points for Tour de Ski victory and 200 points for an overall win in the World Cup Final or a mini-tour. The athlete with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Overall World Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe. Sub-prizes are also awarded to the winners of the Sprint World Cup and the Distance World Cup, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe.
Races are hosted primarily in Europe, with regular stops in the Nordic countries and Central Europe. A few races have also been held in North America and Asia. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 21 countries around the world: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. (Note that all World Cup races hosted in Bosnia were held when it was still part of Yugoslavia.)
The World Cup usually follows a NovemberâÂÂMarch schedule, effectively ruling out hosting races in the southern hemisphere, for example in Argentina or New Zealand. Additionally, races have yet to be hosted in the Central Asia-Himalayas region.
The table below shows the three highest ranked skiers each year.
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All results of female and male athletes of a nation are counted for the Nations Cup.
The table below lists those nations which have won at least one individual World Cup race.<small></small>
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