Sprint, Team Sprint, Relay and 50 Km are the World Championships menu of Francesco De Fabiani who surprisingly won't be at the start of the 15 Km and Skiathlon.
Oberstdorf, Germania – 24 Feb. 2021 • Francesco De Fabiani is radiant, motivated and gritty just a few hours before the start of the 2021 edition of the Cross-country Skiing World Championships scheduled in Oberstdorf, Germany, a place that has always been friendly to the Alpine of the Centro Sportivo Esercito of Courmayeur.
Fresh from a period of preparation in the German town, Defast is precise and more than ever ready for his debut: «I'll start immediately with the Sprint classic scheduled for Thursday 25 February, to then participate in the Team Sprint in free technique on 28 February, where I hope to be at the start together with Federico Pellegrino (the composition of the teams is not yet official, ed)».
The Skiathlon scheduled for February 27, which combines the two techniques in a single distance race, will not be part of De Fabiani's program: «That race, which would adapt to my characteristics, is scheduled on the calendar the day before the Team Sprint, a race in which Pellegrino and I probably have the best chance of fighting for a medal (a specialty in which the duo is outgoing bronze thanks to the 3rd place obtained in Seefeld in 2019, ed)». Other factors, purely technical, also push Francesco away from this race: «The current snow conditions are rather complicated and this heat will probably make everything difficult. Furthermore, those who decide to participate in both races, that is Skiathlon and Team Sprint, will probably suffer fatigue during the Team Sprint, which we particularly care about».
No 15 km, perhaps a surprise for Defast: «I'm sorry, but this 15 km, also in free technique, has too much uphill and would not suit my characteristics, I prefer to concentrate on the 4x10 km relay scheduled for Friday 5 March, where obviously we still don't have the certainty of the composition of the team, but it is one of the races I care about the most, for sure».
Last race scheduled, one of the most awaited, the marathon: «Sunday 7 March I will be at the start of the 50 km in classic: needless to say that I really care, it will be a long and difficult race, since really high temps are complicating the situation. At lunchtime, the snow is really bad, and if the afternoon race times are confirmed, it won't be easy to do well, but above all it will be important to be able to "ski" well despite the difficulties caused by this soft snow. Of course, the 50 km is also the last event of the Worlds so I believe the organizers will be able to treat with salt without worrying too much about the fact that the snow can melt faster the next day».
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Press Office of Francesco De Fabiani
Written by Paolo Mei
Translated by Nicolò Caneparo
