The 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics will feature cross-country skiing starting on February 7, with 12 medal events for men and women at equal distances. Events will take place at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme, Italy, following the opening ceremony on February 6. Viewers in the United States can watch on NBC, USA Network, and Peacock.
The cross-country skiing competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics begins the day after the opening ceremony, on Saturday, February 7, with the women's 10km + 10km skiathlon at 7 a.m. Eastern time. This marks the start of 12 medal events—six for men and six for women—with identical distances for both genders, a change from the 2022 Beijing Games where men's events were longer.
The full schedule spans from February 7 to February 22, the closing day of the Olympics. Key events include the men's skiathlon on February 8 at 6:30 a.m., sprint classic qualifications and finals on February 10 starting at 3:15 a.m., and individual 10km races on February 12 and 13. Relay events follow on February 14 and 15, with women's and men's 4x7.5km relays at 6 a.m. Team sprints are set for February 18, and the endurance races conclude with the men's 50km mass start classic on February 21 at 5 a.m. and the women's on February 22 at 4 a.m.
Cross-country skiing has been a staple of the Winter Olympics since 1924, with women's events added in 1952. Norway leads historically with 129 medals, including 52 golds. For Team USA, it will be the final Olympics for Jessie Diggins, who has earned a gold, silver, and bronze and plans to retire afterward.
Broadcast coverage in the US includes NBC and USA Network for select events, with full live streams on Peacock. Steve Schlanger will handle play-by-play, joined by analysts Chad Salmela, Kikkan Randall, and Johnny Spillane, and reporter Nicole Auerbach.
