The Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin, best time in the first training session the day before, lost control of his skis in the final of the downhill in Bormio (Italy) this Friday and fell heavily.
The 30-year-old skier literally flew off a bump and then bounced violently on the slope, before ending his race in the tarpaulins and protective nets after a long slide.
Sarrazin was aware
The Frenchman, world No.2 in downhill and winner of four races last winter, was joined by the emergency services. After 20 minutes, he was evacuated by helicopter.
In a brief press release, the French Ski Federation indicated that Sarrazin “was conscious”: “He will carry out examinations,” said a spokesperson for the FFS. According to the Eurosport channel, the French skier complained of pain in one foot.
A downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday are on the program for the Bormio stage, one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit where the men’s alpine skiing events of the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan Cortina will take place.
Another descender evacuated by helicopter
“The track is very icy, with very dark portions in terms of visibility, it’s a big change compared to Val Gardena (station where the previous speed stage took place), we know the dangers of this track,” explained Swiss Justin Murisier on Eurosport.
Another descender, the Italian Pietro Zazzi, was injured this Friday and was also evacuated by helicopter, while the world No.1, the Swiss Marco Odermatt, did a cautious training run.
“They don’t deserve the Olympics”
If Bormio is one of the “classics” of the World Cup and has hosted the World Championships twice (1985, 2005), the Lombard stage is hardly appreciated by skiers who regularly criticize the preparation of the slope.
“They don’t know how to prepare the tracks, they’ve been preparing the tracks for forty years and they don’t know how to do anything other than prepare dangerous tracks,” Frenchman Nils Allègre told Eurosport. “They don’t deserve to have the Olympic Games here,” he concluded.
