In January, American Jessie Diggins, the world’s top-ranked female cross-country skier, sprinted up a steep slope in Italy’s Val di Fiemme for her third Tour de Ski victory. Now Diggins is back at the nearby Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme for the Olympics — on a course she’s raced many times.
Although the 2026 Winter Games center on Milan and Cortina, many competition sites in northern Italy are familiar to Team USA. “Our athletes compete there often. Many of them train there,” says Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “It’s a place where we know we can shine.”
To level the field, cross-country officials reconfigured the Val di Fiemme course. “Most of it isn’t the same; it’s quite literally running backwards for part of it,” Diggins says. “You have people like me who’ve been racing there for a very long time, but at the same time everyone’s kind of relearning it all over again.”
Val di Fiemme will also host ski jumping and Nordic combined. About two hours north, after winding mountain roads, sits the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena. The valley, called a “biathlon sanctuary,” has hosted elite skiing and shooting for more than 50 years.
U.S. biathletes say they have an edge there. “Our head coach for the last eight years is from the Antholz Valley, born and raised,” says Deedra Irwin, the top U.S. female biathlete. “Most of our wax staff have been ski racing there since they were kids.” The U.S. has never medaled in biathlon; Irwin says this could be their chance. “We kind of are the locals,” she adds. “We got all the local intel, we got a nice setup in our house there.”
About 40 miles south, Cortina d’Ampezzo will host curling and sliding sports like bobsled and skeleton. Alpine skiers will race the Olympia delle Tofane, one of the world’s most iconic runs, which debuted at the 1956 Winter Games.
The run is central to Lindsey Vonn’s history. “Every [skier] has their mountain where they feel most at home,” Vonn says. “For me, it’s always been Cortina and Lake Louise. Those are my two favorite spots.” Vonn has won many major races in both locations and is coming out of retirement for her fifth Olympic Games. She says she has a strong connection to the mountain: “I know what it needs. I know what it takes to win there.”
A major crash a week before the Games ruptured a knee ligament, but Vonn announced she will still compete, skiing with a brace over the torn ACL on her left knee. “As long as there’s still a chance, I will try,” she says. Vonn also speaks warmly of the town: “I love the town; I love the atmosphere. Everyone there has always welcomed me and treated me like a local.” A Cortina restaurant even named a margherita pizza after her.
The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics open Feb. 6 at the hundred-year-old San Siro Stadium in Milan and conclude Feb. 22 in Verona at an ancient Roman amphitheater built in A.D. 30.
