The first Russian cross-country ski team to visit New Zealand will compete at the FIS Australia-New Zealand Continental Cup (ANC Cup) races at the Snow Farm from August 6-8.
Snow Sports New Zealand cross-country skiing steering group member John Burridge said eight Russians have entered.
Top Canadian and United States athletes will also be racing alongside New Zealand Olympian Ben Koons.
Koons, a dual New Zealander-Canadian, arrives in Wanaka mid-July, and is bringing his younger brother Nils Koons for his first appearance racing at the Snow Farm.
Nils Koons has been skiing to a high level internationally in under-23 competition for Canada.
He declared a change of nation to FIS in December last year in a bid to ski for his birth country, New Zealand, and stake a claim in the 2014 Olympics team.
New Zealand's top under-23 skier, Andy Pohl, of Dunedin, who narrowly missed qualifying for this year's Winter Olympics, has already returned to Wanaka from his Canadian base and is now training with team member Nat Anglem, of Christchurch.
