The best season in ages!
Worldloppet Season 2025/26 in Numbers
The Worldloppet season 2025/26 has come to an impressive close, confirming once again the global popularity of long-distance cross-country skiing. Across all events, a total of 136,009 participants took part in Worldloppet’s Global Calendar races this winter. With events in 23 countries on 6 continents and thousands of skiers representing 104 nationalities, traveling around the world, the season highlighted the unique international spirit of the federation. 106.000 of them were participating in the 19 Worldloppet Member Race‘s events – for the first time after the Covid-pandemic, the federation’s circuit is exceeding the 100.000-mark again.
One of the most remarkable achievements of the season was the addition of 215 new Worldloppet Masters. This is one of the biggest annual numbers in recent years and clearly shows the strong motivation skiers have to complete the Worldloppet Master journey. Becoming a Master requires dedication, travel spirit, and passion for skiing – values that define the Worldloppet community. This trend will go on, as another 900 passports were issued this season. This makes 25.269 issued passports in total. When it comes to Master titles, the 6.000-mark was closely not reached this season: 5981 Worldloppet Master Titles have been awarded over the past decades. The most passport holders are coming from USA, Germany, Russia, Finland and Switzerland. The average age of a Passport Holder is 47 years, while the average age of a Master is 51 years.
Another record was set this winter: Robert Palliser from Canada has collected is 36th Master Title, which makes him the world record holder.
Top 10 Biggest Global Skimarathon Calendar Races 2025/26
- Vasaloppet (SWE) – 41,177 participants
- Engadin Skimarathon (SUI) – 13,788
- Birkebeinerrennet (NOR) – 9,541
- American Birkebeiner (USA) – 8,900
- Jizerská 50 (CZE) – 8,054
- Skarverennet (NOR) – 5,679*
- Bieg Piastów (POL) – 4,542
- Marcialonga (ITA) – 4,139
- Tartu Maraton (EST) – 3,599
- Engelbrektsloppet (SWE) – 3,216*
* Part of the Global Skimarathon Calendar and Ranking, but no Worldloppet member race.
Growth of Overall Starters (2022–2026)
The long-term development is equally encouraging. Total starters across all Global Calendar races have increased strongly over the last five seasons:
- 2022: 98,288 (77,114 of them in WL member races)
- 2023: 117,778 (91,075)
- 2024: 107,256 (88,583)
- 2025: 122,389 (98,735)
- 2026: 136,009 (106,467)
This means participation has grown by more than 37,000 starters since 2022 – an increase of 38 % in five years.
Positive development of women sports
A very delightful number are the 43.422 women standing on the different starting lines. This is an increase of 14 % compared to the season before. Among the Worldloppet Passport Holders are 27 % female skiers – a number, Worldloppet is eager to increase over the coming winters.
The numbers show that Worldloppet is more than a race series. It is a worldwide movement connecting skiers across continents, cultures, and generations and race organizations, both within the circuit of Worldloppet member races and also outside. With rising participation and a growing number of Masters, we are looking into a stable future of Worldloppet, is the opinion of President Ben Popp:
“These numbers are a strong signal that Worldloppet is moving in the right direction. More skiers are joining our events, more athletes are completing the journey to become Worldloppet Masters, and our races continue to inspire people across all continents. It shows that the passion for cross-country skiing is alive and growing worldwide. We are proud of the work being done together with our member races, partners, and volunteers, who make this success possible. At the same time, these results motivate us to keep developing Worldloppet for the future – creating new opportunities, new experiences, and welcoming even more skiers into our global family.”
Haglöfs joins the family
One key factor behind this positive development is the support of reliable and forward-looking partners. Since this season, Worldloppet is proud to welcome Haglöfs as the new Presenting Sponsor of the federation. The partnership with such a respected outdoor brand strengthens the visibility of Worldloppet worldwide and helps to further develop services, communication, and opportunities for skiers across the globe. Strong partnerships like this are essential to build a successful future for the sport and to continue growing the international Worldloppet community.
