Pietro Piller Cottrer returned in Rybinsk to World Cup trails after having skipped Tour de Ski and Otepää.
The biggest men’s medal hope for Italy was quite satisfied with the performance in Rybinsk. Cottrer cracked top ten in the 10+10 Pursuit and finished 9th. “I’m quite satisfied with the performance in Pursuit. I did quite well in classic but not as good as I wanted in free technique,” said Pietro Piller Cottrer to fiscrosscountry.com.
Italian relay scored second place and were only beaten by the Russian quartet. “We had a great race with the Russians on Sunday. Alexander Legkov was in great shape. I tried to stay with him as long as possible but I could not respond to his attack in the steep uphill,” explained Piller Cottrer who was happy for the second place. “Many nations were not in Rybinsk but it is not our fault. All of us did a great job in the relay and it was a nice feeling to be back on the podium,” commented Piller Cottrer the fact that Italian men’s relay has not been on a World Cup podium since Davos 2007.
Squadra Azzura returned to Italy after World Cup in Rybinsk but leaves to Prato Piazza for a high altitude training camp. “We’re going to stay at Prato Piazza from 10 to 17 February. I have done a lot of hard training in past weeks. Now it is time to focus on the last bits, which are left to reach the top,” concluded Pietro Piller Cottrer. The Italian team for Oslo will be officially presented on Friday.
