Cross-country skiing : Federico Pellegrino trapped at the very end of the race
At 34, he is one of the most experienced cross-country skiers on the circuit. And yet, on Friday, during the classic sprint of the cross-country skiing world cup in Val di Fiemme (Italy), Federico Pellegrino missed out on the podium because of a tactical error in the day’s final.
In this fifth race of the 2024/2025 Tour de Ski , the Italian saw the top 3 slip away before his very eyes, even though he seemed to have done everything he could to secure his place. However, caught by Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo, Even Northug and Marcus Grate, the Italian finally had to settle for fourth place.
Although he had made his effort on the final climb of the demanding route for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina (Italy) next season, the man with forty-five podiums on the circuit unexpectedly changed route on the final straight.
It was a fatal slip-up for the man who looked set for a great party in front of his home crowd. In the final sprint, what I saw in the semi-final happened again,” he told Fondo Italia. That is, whoever is heavier than me on the snow and on a track like this, has an advantage.
Not one to hold a grudge, Federico Pellegrino knows that this mishap will serve as a lesson for the crucial deadline that awaits him next year. ” I’m waiting to see what changes they make to the final climb for next year. That could be a positive factor,” he says. What’s more, the snow will certainly be hard and compact in mid-February, so maybe there will be other differences to make.”
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