Federico Pellegrino has found his form – and Klæbo will be the first to test it. On Saturday, a star-studded showdown is set in Trento, Italy.

Federico Pellegrino took silver in the sprint at the World Championships in Trondheim last winter. Now he is aiming for gold at the Olympics on home soil. And then he will retire.

The cheerful Italian is putting everything into his final season, focusing on the Olympic Games in Val di Fiemme in February. Last week, he tested his form against several of the world’s best in Oberhof. There, he got exactly the answers he was looking for.

Now, the veteran is bursting with confidence and is looking forward to this weekend’s private duel against his archrival Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The battle takes place on Saturday at 16:00 CET, as part of the sports festival in Trento.

“I’m looking forward to being part of the festival, and I’m very happy that they have set aside time specifically for cross-country skiing. The festival is an important event for all sports enthusiasts, myself included,” Pellegrino told Fondo Italia.

Decisive for the season

The good performance in Oberhof was crucial for Pellegrino, who says that the summer didn’t quite go according to plan.

“June and July were tough, because I was a bit sick and lost some training days. August was fantastic and probably the month I’ve trained the most in my entire career. However, at the start of September, I fell ill again. I lost more training days, but I wanted to make sure I was completely healthy and didn’t risk carrying the illness into the preparation phase,” said Pellegrino.

Now, the veteran is bursting with confidence and looking forward to this weekend’s private duel against his archrival.

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Could become the oldest Olympic champion in history

Federico Pellegrino became the oldest medalist ever when he took silver in the sprint at the World Championships in Trondheim. Now the Olympics on home soil await in February, when he will be 35 years old – and then it will all be over.

The silver medal in the Trondheim sprint was the Italian’s seventh championship podium. He won the sprint at the World Championships in Lahti in 2017, took silver in the sprint in Seefeld in 2019, and has two silvers and two bronzes in the team sprint, the latest from Planica in 2023.

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