Eight months after a life-threatening crash, French speed specialist Cyprien Sarrazin is back with an urgent message - and calls for fundamental reforms in skiing.
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- Cyprien Sarrazin is recovering eight months after a life-threatening fall with a brain haemorrhage and an induced coma. The Frenchman is planning a return to skiing - his long-term goal is the 2030 Olympic Games.
- Following the fatal training accident involving Italian Matteo Franzoso, Sarrazin is calling for far-reaching reforms in skiing. Training conditions are significantly less safe than in World Cup races.
- Sarrazin is in favor of safer training venues, new protective equipment and a limit on training hours along the lines of Formula 1. The athletes themselves would have to work harder for change.
Cyprien Sarrazin is taking his time with his return to competitive sport. Eight months ago, he had a serious crash in Bormio and "almost died" - Sarrazin suffered a brain haemorrhage and was temporarily placed in an induced coma.
The Frenchman is now leading a "normal life" again and plans to race again at some point. "Deep down, I feel that I can come back," says Sarrazin in an interview with "Eurosport". His long-term goal: the 2030 Winter Olympics, which will take place in the French Alps.
At the moment, however, the 30-year-old is primarily concerned with safety in skiing. The death of Matteo Franzoso - he died in a training accident in Chile - is a major concern for him, as he "knew the Italian well".
"It's about human lives"
"The training venues are not as safe as the World Cup races," says Sarrazin. It is anything but safe and anything can happen at any time, the speed skier notes. He calls for adjustments to be made when it comes to safety: "You can't take this issue lightly. Human lives are at stake." The reforms need to come quickly: "We shouldn't wait until there are fatalities."
"We should have done this much earlier, we drivers should have been the first. I am also guilty, I go to the start, I accept all this. So far, I haven't felt entitled to make any suggestions. But if I were asked today, I would know what I could say and suggest," says Sarrazin.
"There are things that take time: for example, different helmets, different airbags, new standards," he explained to "Eurosport". "However, one decision can be implemented very quickly: creating safe training venues and limiting the hours of skiing, as is the case in Formula 1. That would limit the dangerous conditions and make the preparation a little fairer."
