The Nordic Combined World Cup is returning to Lake Placid, New York, for the first time in nearly four decades. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) confirmed Friday that the historic Olympic destination will host men’s and women’s World Cup competitions Feb. 5-6, 2027, marking the circuit’s first appearance in Lake Placid since 1989 and its first stop anywhere in the United States in more than 25 years.
The event will also mark a major milestone for women’s Nordic combined. Since the women’s World Cup circuit was established during the 2020-21 season, it has never held a competition in North America. The last men’s Nordic Combined World Cup event in the United States took place in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in December 2001.
Nordic combined is one of competitive skiing’s oldest disciplines, combining ski jumping and cross-country skiing into a single competition. Athletes must excel in two very different aspects of the sport, with jumping performance and cross-country results determining the final standings.
Two Historic Olympic Venues Will Host The World Cup
The competition will take place at two facilities associated with Lake Placid’s Olympic history. Athletes will compete in ski jumping at the Olympic Jumping Complex before or after racing on the cross-country trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, depending on the event format.
Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. Its most recent Nordic Combined World Cup competition was held March 18, 1989, when Norway’s Trond-Arne Bredesen claimed victory ahead of Austria’s Klaus Sulzenbacher and France’s Fabrice Guy. Although Lake Placid hosted Nordic combined events during the 2025 Junior World Ski Championships, the senior World Cup has not returned until now.
“Having a home event is important for us and finally gives our athletes a chance to compete in front of their friends and family.” -Anders Johnson, USA Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director
American athletes will have legitimate podium aspirations when the event arrives. Alexa Brabec finished second in the 2025-26 overall women’s World Cup standings after earning her first career World Cup victory. Tara Geraghty-Moats, winner of the inaugural women’s overall World Cup title in 2020-21, returned to the circuit last season and recorded two podium finishes.
The timing of the announcement also coincides with the U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined National Championships taking place in Lake Placid this weekend, Oct. 10-11. FIS officials are also conducting a final inspection in preparation for the February World Cup.
A Significant Return At A Difficult Time For The Sport
The return to the United States comes just months after the International Olympic Committee removed Nordic combined from the 2030 Winter Olympics. The discipline has appeared at every Winter Games since the inaugural competition in 1924, but the IOC determined that it had not demonstrated sufficient international participation and audience interest to retain its place on the program.
Women’s Nordic combined has never been included in the Olympics, despite the establishment and growth of its World Cup circuit.
With the sport facing an uncertain Olympic future, bringing World Cup competition back to North America offers an opportunity to expand its audience. FIS is also planning an experimental event involving the new Velocity Ski League during the Lake Placid weekend. The proposed competition is designed to test a more compact, spectator-friendly format, although it will not count as an official World Cup event.
The Nordic Combined World Cup will be part of a busy winter competition calendar at Lake Placid’s Olympic facilities. The Olympic Jumping Complex is scheduled to host men’s and women’s Ski Jumping World Cup events Feb. 6-7, while Whiteface Mountain will welcome the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships March 2-12.
For a discipline that has not staged a World Cup in the United States since 2001, the February event will provide American athletes with something they have gone an entire generation without: an opportunity to compete against the world’s best on home snow.