The declarations of the Italian cross-country skiing team on the eve of the "Ruka Nordic"

From Pellegrino's questions to De Fabiani's desire for redemption, the declarations of the Azzurri on the eve of the first match of the season.

Thursday 26 November 2020 4 minutes reading time

With the "Ruka Nordic" (the triptych of competitions that opens the new season) the 2020/21 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup officially starts. We start tomorrow with a sprint in classic technique (final stages starting at 12:30); Saturday instead will be the turn of the women's 10 km (9:40) and the men's 15 km (12:45), both alternating; the program will end on Sunday with a women's 10 km free technique (11:50 am) and a men's 15 km free technique (12:50 pm). There will be seven Italians competing, between the male and female sectors: Federico Pellegrino, Francesco De Fabiani, Giandomenico Salvadori, Maicol Rastelli, Greta Laurent, Lucia Scardoni and Anna Comarella. "Chicco" Pellegrino, through the channels of the FISI, declared that he had some reservations about his physical condition: "For me this is yet another start of the season in Ruka. Compared to a few past seasons I arrive with some doubts about my condition, which I hope to cancel with the performance in the race. The preparation was very particular, started early due to the season that ended prematurely, then during the summer I had a small physical hitch, fortunately solved. I know the track very well, I will certainly compete on Saturday and probably also on Sunday, but my attention is focused on the sprint on Friday: after five consecutive years on the podium of the final ranking of specialties, last season I finished fourth, I want to go back very high in this specialty. " Francesco De Fabaini, on the other hand, always through the FISI channels, defined himself as energized for this start of the season and aware of having worked well in preparation: "Here in Finland we have done a good job without problems, I feel better than last season, where back problems had affected me not a little. The tests carried out with other nations in the last weekend helped us a lot: Friday, in the sprint, my goal is to overcome the qualifications and go as far as possible in the elimination phases direct, then I will think about the races on Saturday and Sunday. The seasonal goals I have set myself are two: to rank at the Tour de Ski and the World Championships in Oberstdorf, a place that in the past has given me great satisfaction. "