Around 135 athletes from 25 countries are due to compete in cross-country skiing and biathlon in what will be the last major competition ahead of the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang.

The Opening Ceremony is due to take place on February 10, with competition in middle-distance biathlon on February 11 and cross-country sprint on February 12.

Following official training on February 13, there will be competition scheduled in individual biathlon on February 14, open and mixed cross-country relays on February 15, and long-distance cross-country on February 16.

Another day of official training is scheduled for February 17, while sprint biathlon competition is due to be held on February 18 and middle-distance cross-country competition on February 19, the same day as the Closing Ceremony.

Several German athletes will be hoping to make an impact when they take to their home snow at the SV Finsterau sports club.

Defending three cross-country skiing world titles is Andrea Eskau, fresh from her Paralympic cycling gold in the H5 road race at Rio 2016.

At the 2015 World Championships in Cable in the United States, Eskau secured wins in the women’s sprint, middle and long-distance cross-country sitting events.

Facing her in Finsterau will be team-mate Anja Wicker, the Paralympic middle-distance biathlon champion.

Martin Fleig is a strong German medal hope in the men’s sitting and, having finished as the overall runner-up from the 2015-16 International Paralympic Committee Nordic Skiing World Cup, he is considered to be well-positioned to improve on his world bronze from the individual biathlon.

The women’s visually impaired will feature two top-five finishers from last season’s World Cup - Vivian Hoesch, who also reached the podium in 2015 with bronze in the sprint biathlon, and Clara Klug.

Other big names set to compete include US team-mates Andrew Soule and Oksana Masters in the men’s and women’s sitting respectively.

Soule made history last year by becoming the most decorated American athlete in history at a World Championships with five medals from both cross-country and biathlon.

Masters is a double world medallist in cross-country skiing, and raced Eskau at Rio 2016.

France recently unveiled their team for the 2016-2017 season, featuring Thomas Clarion and Benjamin Daviet - both of whom were part of the open relay team that took the gold medal in 2015.

Clarion, guided by Antoine Bollet, is also a silver medallist from the men’s long-distance cross-country visually impaired.

Daviet collected four other podium finishes in the men’s cross-country and biathlon standing.

In the build-up to the 2017 Worlds Championships, skiers will race at World Cups in Vuokatti in Finland and in Western Centre in Ukraine.

The Vuokatti World Cup is due to open the season on December 9.