Cross-country skiing (sport)Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions include the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, and at the Winter Olympic Games. Such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic (in-track) and freestyle events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing.
Winter Olympic GamesThe Winter Olympic Games (Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896.
GrenobleGrenoble (ɡrəˈnoʊbəl , ɡʁənɔbl; Grenoblo or Grainóvol; Graçanòbol) is the prefecture and largest city of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the capital of the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac flows into the Isère at the foot of the French Alps. The population of the commune of Grenoble was 158,198 as of 2019, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area (French: aire d'attraction de Grenoble or agglomération grenobloise) was 714,799 which makes it the largest metropolis in the Alps, ahead of Innsbruck and Bolzano.
InnsbruckInnsbruck (ˈɪnsbʁʊk; Innschbruck ˈɪnʃprʊk) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a population of 132,493 in 2018. In the broad valley between high mountains, the so-called North Chain in the Karwendel Alps (Hafelekarspitze, ) to the north and Patscherkofel () and Serles () to the south, Innsbruck is an internationally renowned winter sports centre; it hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics as well as the 1984 and 1988 Winter Paralympics.
