The Finnish cross-country season gets underway in Olos/Muonio on Friday, with World Cup stars from across Europe lining up against the best of the home nation. Here are the skiers to follow over the three race days, all streamed live on SC Play.

The Olos/Muonio Ski Race Weekend runs from November 13 to 15 and opens with a 1.2km classic sprint on Friday. A 10km classic interval start follows on Saturday, and the weekend closes with a 10km freestyle interval start on Sunday. For many athletes, it is the first real test on snow before the World Cup opener in Ruka on November 26-29.

The field is large; 338 skiers from 17 nations are registered. The registration lists published by the organizers show 74 women and 95 men for the sprint qualification. There are 77 women and 130 men for the senior classic race, and 62 women and 107 men for the senior freestyle race. The U20 classes add another 25 women and 59 men on Saturday, and 27 women and 59 men on Sunday.

Please note: the athletes and race programs in this article are based on the registration lists ahead of the weekend. The official start lists will be published before each race and can be found on ProXCskiing.com for the sprint, the 10km classic and the 10km freestyle.

Also Read: Season openers in cross-country skiing and biathlon: program and TV times

Live on SC Play

All races are streamed live and available on demand on SC Play, which holds exclusive broadcasting rights in all countries except Finland. Kjell-Erik Kristiansen commentates on all broadcasts. SC Play is included in the Proxcskiing.com membership.

WATCH THE OLOS/MUONIO SKI RACE WEEKEND ON SC PLAY

Also Read: Finnish Ski Premiere Olos/Muonio Live on SC Play

Finnish profiles

Iivo Niskanen (Puijon Hiihtoseura)

Finland’s biggest name is skipping Friday’s sprint and focusing on the distance races. Niskanen is registered for both the 10km classic on Saturday and the 10km freestyle on Sunday, and he leads the Finnish men’s team in Muonio.

Remi Lindholm (Imatran Urheilijat)

Lindholm has registered for the same program as Niskanen, with both 10km races but not the sprint.

Niilo Moilanen and Juuso Haarala (Pohti SkiTeam Pyhäjärvi)

The two clubmates have chosen different programs. Moilanen is registered for the classic sprint on Friday and the freestyle race on Sunday. Haarala is registered for only one race, the 10km classic on Saturday.

Jasmi Joensuu, Johanna Matintalo, Amanda Saari and Anne Kyllönen

The four skiers leading the Finnish women’s team are all registered for the same two races: the classic sprint on Friday and the 10km classic on Saturday. None of them is registered for Sunday’s freestyle race. Joensuu races for Vantaan Hiihtoseura, Matintalo for Ounasvaaran Hiihtoseura, Saari for Tampereen Pyrintö, and Kyllönen for Kainuun Hiihtoseura.

The host club: Muonion Kiri

The organizing club has its own skiers in the field. Juniors Nooa Kaunisto and Veikka Muotka are registered for all three days. On Friday they race the senior sprint qualification, and on Saturday and Sunday they race the U20 10km classic and 10km freestyle. Miika Muotka, also from Muonion Kiri, is registered for the senior 10km freestyle on Sunday.

International profiles

Erik Valnes (Norway)

The weekend in Muonio will be Valnes’ first race since the Olympics in February, Langrenn.com reports. The 30-year-old fell ill just before the Games and finished 21st in the sprint qualification and sixth in the final in Val di Fiemme. The Olympic sprint was also his last race of the season.

“I’m going to Muonio to get some race runs under my belt. Hopefully with good results,” Valnes told Langrenn.com.

Valnes has had a difficult run at championships since his first senior World Championships in Oberstdorf in 2021, where he won gold and silver. He broke a ski in the sprint semifinal in Planica in 2023, and in 2025 a back injury nearly cost him the World Championships in Trondheim. He now has high hopes for the World Championships in Falun this winter. In Muonio, he is registered for the sprint and the 10km classic, both events on the Falun program in February. He will also meet his friendly rival Iivo Niskanen there.

Natalia Terenteva (neutral status)

The 2022 Olympic champion is registered for all three races, and it will be her first season opener since 2021. At the 2022 Olympics, Terenteva won relay gold, along with individual silver and bronze. The same season, she won the Tour de Ski and the overall World Cup, according to ProXCskiing.com. She has since become a mother twice, most recently less than a year ago.

Her younger sister Dariya Nepryaeva is also registered for all three races. Savelii Korostelev is registered for the classic and freestyle races, while Sergey Volkov is registered for the sprint and the freestyle race.

Elvira Niva and Theo Mattei (Sweden)

Two Kiruna skiers carry Swedish hopes from the far north. Elvira Niva of IFK Kiruna is a member of the Swedish junior national team. She won silver at the Swedish junior championships in Bollnäs last year, when she was only 16, according to Langd.se. The now 17-year-old is registered for the U20 races on Saturday and Sunday. Muonio was the site of her first major international competition last year.

“It will be hard to compete against the world elite, but I want to ski fast,” Niva told Langd.se. “I feel like I want to get going and race, and these races are still fairly close to home in Kiruna.”

“I want to be fairly high up among the juniors, at least,” she added.

Her bigger goals lie further ahead in the season.

“Staying injury free and being able to keep a consistent and high level is one of my big goals. A dream would be to race the Junior World Championships. That would be really awesome,” Niva said.

Theo Mattei of Kiruna Skidor made his World Cup debut last year and is registered for both distance races in Muonio. It is his third year racing there.

“This will be my third year racing here. I like the courses,” Mattei told Langd.se.

He has spent a week and a half in Olos/Muonio skiing on the race courses and expects the classic race to suit a particular type of skier.

“We race on a 5km loop. You start on a slalom slope, and it climbs during the first half. But then a lot of it is downhill all the way into the stadium and the lap area. In that way, it’s a special course. I think the strong double polers will be fastest in the classic race,” Mattei said.

His own focus is Sunday’s freestyle race.

“Skating usually goes better for me, and I hope to make the top 30. That would be good, since there are a lot of strong international skiers here,” he said.

Germany

Germany brings one of the strongest teams of the weekend. Katharina Hennig Dotzler, Laura Gimmler, Coletta Rydzek and Sofie Krehl are all registered for the sprint and the classic race. Pia Fink is registered for the classic and freestyle races.

On the men’s side, brothers Friedrich Moch and Jakob Elias Moch are registered for both distance events along with Janosch Brugger, while Florian Notz is registered only for Sunday’s freestyle race.

Benjamin Moser and Teresa Stadlober (Austria)

Moser won the sprint in Muonio last year and is registered for the sprint again, as well as Sunday’s freestyle race. Stadlober is registered for the classic and freestyle races.

Finn-Hågen Krogh and the Norwegian group

More than 20 Norwegians are coming to Muonio. Along with Valnes, Finn-Hågen Krogh is registered for both distance races.

Italy

The Italians have registered their leading names for all three races. Elia Barp, Davide Graz, Simone Mocellini and Caterina Ganz are entered for the sprint, the classic race and the freestyle race.

North America

Antoine Cyr represents Canada in the classic and freestyle races. For the United States, Kendall Kramer is registered for the sprint and the classic race, and Lauren Jortberg for the sprint and the freestyle race.

Visa question ahead of Ruka

The Russian registrations come as Finnish authorities work on denying visas to Russian athletes. According to YLE, a decision was due on Thursday, November 12. It would not affect skiers who already hold visas for Finland, and Finland cannot turn away Russian skiers with a valid Schengen visa from another country, ProXCskiing.com reported. Any ban may therefore have a real effect only for the World Cup opener in Ruka.

“The group of neutral Russian skiers will definitely be bigger than in Lahti last spring,” Marleena Valtasola of the Finnish Ski Association told ProXCskiing.com.

Read More: Finland moves to ban Russian skiers

Program and broadcast times (CET)

Friday 13 November: Sprint, classic (women and men)

• 08:45–10:00: Qualification
• 10:45–13:25: Heats and finals

More information can be found HERE

Saturday 14 November: 10km classic (women, men and U20)

• 08:45–12:30

More information can be found HERE

Sunday 15 November: 10km freestyle (women, men and U20)

• 08:45–13:00

More information can be found HERE

Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it.

REGISTER HERE AS A MEMBER