16TH PLACE FOR DEFAST IN OTEPÄÄ
The 15 km in Estonia ends with a decent 16th place for Francesco De Fabiani, rejoining the World Cup after the Tour de Ski. The goal remains the Seefeld World Championship scheduled for the end of February.
Otepää, Estonia – Jan. 20th 2019 - The eagerly awaited appointment of Otepää in Estonia ends with an acceptable placement just outside the Top 15 for Francesco De Fabiani. Defast, at the first post-Tour de Ski event, must be happy with the current standing in "his" race, the 15 km classic.
Started with the number 41 in the interval start, the skier from Gressoney has accused in his legs the efforts of the Tour de Ski, in which he obtained a good ninth place in the general classification: «I did an anonymous race, not too good for me, but not so bad. It would have been better to get within the first 10, but this is what I could do today».
The race saw the victory of the number one favorite for the World Championships, the Finn Iivo Niskanen, not surprisingly absent at the Tour and brilliant today in the 15 km, able to relegate to the second place the Russian Alexander Bolshunov and, at third, Didrik Toenseth, Norway.
De Fabiani, second among the Italians a few seconds from an excellent Federico Pellegrino (15th), makes a precise analysis: «The legs were perhaps not at their best, but they were not even so tired, let's say that after the stage race ended on Cermis it's a bit like if I had the limiter. All this does not allow you to express yourself to the maximum».
Right like a year ago in Planika, Francesco has got 1'45” from the winner: «Also last year, two weeks after the Tour I had accused the same gap from the first, let's say that over time you also learn to know, to understand, and understand yourself».
The seasonal goal is still the world championships of Seefeld at the end of February: «It does not change anything about expectations, I’d like to be at the top in the Worlds races, so we will decide shortly whether to skip some Cup rounds to recover better and be at best for the Austrian event. We will evaluate if we miss the Ulricehamn stage in Sweden and then prepare for the World Championships. Nothing worrying, I simply did not completely eliminate the fatigue accumulated in the last period. Maybe a few more days to get a full recovery are needed. In any case, once again, if necessary I will also skip over a world cup event to be in shape in Seefeld».
The World Cup program includes, according to the schedule, the Swedish stage, then there will be Lahti in Finland, then Cogne in Italy and finally, the World Championships.
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Press Office of Francesco De Fabiani
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