The alpine of the Centro Sportivo Esercito is ready for the Tour de Ski which will start from Toblach on 30 December and end in Val di Fiemme on Cermis on 7 January 2024. Circled in red, the 15 Km Mass Start of Lago di Tesero.
Toblach, Italy – Dec. 28th 2023 • Francesco De Fabiani, the cross-country skier from Valle d'Aosta, will be at the start of the Tour de Ski. The thirty-year-old from Gressoney will be part of a large "Rossoneri" squad, being in the company of Federico Pellegrino and two rookies, Federica Cassol and Nadine Laurent.
The number one goal of the season, the Tour de Ski* is a very treacherous race that Defast knows well: «We have arrived in Toblach and we are ready – says the skier – despite the snow is lacking, the course is beautiful. The first sprint will not be easy, because it is for specialists. Then I will look for the first confirmations in the 10 km C, where it would be nice to grab the Top 10. In the pursuit of Toblach on the 20 km F it will be important to defend ourselves».
A day of rest will follow before Davos, «where there will be the sprint F – adds Defast – and I will try to qualify (the winner of each sprint will have 1 minute bonus, which is a lot). The following chase, on a new track, will take into account the gaps from the sprint bonuses from the previous day and not the general classification».
The 15 km of Lago di Tesero remains the main target of the skier from Valle d’Aosta: «I hope to get on the podium, as has already happened in the past. I know that there isn't too much snow even in Val di Fiemme, I hope that the race course is the same as in recent years. The Final Climb is my Achilles' heel and I would like to improve myself on the Cermis and in general terms I hope that this Tour will allow me to "go up the hill" to start again with a better and constant shape for the rest of the season».
* Here is the list of individual stages in detail:
Dec. 30th: Sprint F Toblach
Dec. 31st: 10 km C Toblach
Jan. 1st: 20 km Pursuit F Toblach
Jan. 3rd: Sprint F Davos
Jan. 4th: 20km Pursuit C Davos
Jan. 6th: 15 Km MST C Val di Fiemme
Jan. 7th: 9 km Final Climb F Cermis Val di Fiemme
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Press Office of Francesco De Fabiani
Written by Paolo Mei
Translated by Nicolò Caneparo
