Jan Egil Andresen’s father passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. – You can say that I raced for him, said Jan Egil.
Jan Egil Andresen from Norway started very well in Thursday’s 15-kilometer freestyle race at Worlds, but wasn’t able to keep up that pace all the way to the finish. He finished 29th, 1 minute and 38 seconds behind the winner.
– I had a good start, but it got very tough after a while. I started out hard and had good skis, but wasn’t able to maintain the pace to the end of the race. It wasn’t all that bad if you look at how I raced last season, but I would have liked to be one minute closer to the winner, says Jan Egil Andresen.
He feels that he is in good shape.
– I feel that I’m in great shape, and had an incredible good time-trial test in Val di Fiemme before we came to Oberstdorf, says Jan Egil.
His preparations before the race were far from good. He was told on Tuesday night that his father had passed away after a long battle with cancer.
– You can say that I raced for him, says Andresen.
He was never in doubt that he should race in Thursday’s 15-kilometer.
– I would have regretted it if I had traveled home. My team-mates have been great. They have supported me all the way, and the team atmosphere and spirit is very good, says Andresen
He will not ski any other races in this championship, and is traveling back to Norway on Saturday.
Eldar Ronning, the first alternate skier will replace Andresen
