26 Nations at the Start of the 45th Masters World Cup in Sappada

22 January 2026. Over 800 participants from 26 nations have registered for the 45th Masters World Cup in Sappada and Forni Avoltri in the Italian Dolomites. This is the fifth time that Italy has hosted a Masters World Cup.

The USA has the largest team with 134 athletes. In second place is host country Italy with 115 athletes, followed by Finland with 72. It will be exciting to see whether the Finnish team will once again return home as the most successful team, as they did last year in Klosters.

The competitions will take place from January 30 to February 5. The program includes long, middle, and short distance races as well as a relay competition. Athletes can compete in both classic and freestyle techniques.

As in so many ski resorts, the two venues have had to do a lot of preparatory work to ensure that the courses are in championship-worthy condition.