The IOF say the calendar for 2021 follows the same design as the upcoming season, with nine races split across World Cup events in three countries.

The 2020 season will see World Cup races held in Switzerland, Italy and Estonia from May to October.

The World Cup consortium, which consists of the IOF and the Verein Swiss Cup, have now confirmed plans for the following year.

"The locations are carefully selected to shape a series of competitions that place demands on a variety of skills," said Tom Hollowell, IOF secretary general.

"The first round, in Sweden, will require a high level of technical navigation skills.

"The second round, in Russia, will be all about speed, in legs and brain.

"The ability to handle high altitude Alpine terrain will be a key skill in the third and decisive round.

"The programme marks a further step towards a consolidation and quality improvement of the World Cup. 

"It will be the second year under the management of the World Cup consortium, consisting of IOF and Verein Swiss Cup.

"This stability gives good opportunities for making the Cup attractive to both athletes, fans and the media.

"The media is showing an increasing interest and we have reasons to believe that television coverage will be excellent during 2021."

The opening World Cup event in Sweden will take place at Idre Fjäll from June 12 to 15 in 2021.

A middle-distance race will open the season, with a relay and a long-distance competition following.

Saranask in Russia will stage the second competition, with sprint, sprint relay and knock-out sprint events taking place between August 24 and 28.

The event will double as the European Championships.

The World Cup season will conclude at the Aletsch Arena in Switzerland.

A long-distance event will take place on September 24, with middle-distance and sprint relay races held over the next two days.