Cyprien Sarrazin said he hopes to return to Alpine skiing competition some time after the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, according to French media reports.
Sarrazin has not raced since a downhill training crash last Dec. 27 in Bormio, Italy. He sustained a subdural hematoma — a collection of blood between the skull and the brain.
Later in the winter, Sarrazin said he was still dealing with double vision.
“My eyes have been sorted out for a while,” he said Monday, according to a translation of a L’Equipe report. “They came back quite naturally, and they’ve once again defied predictions. As an athlete and competitor, I always want things to go faster with the little hiccups I have left, especially with my knees. I already had problems before, and the fall in Bormio obviously didn’t help. But otherwise, everything is fine, especially neurologically. I ride a road bike, I have a normal life, and that’s already a miracle, but now I’d like to be able to go mountain biking again and of course get back on skis. Even if I mustn’t forget where I was a few months ago, it’s important. I have to enjoy the good times, like being here, at home, after having worked hard these last few weeks on the physical level.”
Sarrazin said he has not set a definite return date to competition, but it will not be before the 2026-27 season, according to media that spoke with him Monday.
In the 2023-24 season, Sarrazin ranked second on the World Cup in the downhill and won four individual races, one year after his World Cup downhill debut.
Last season, Swiss Marco Odermatt repeated as World Cup downhill season champion in the absence of both Sarrazin and 2022-23 World Cup downhill season champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway.
Kilde, sidelined since a race crash on Jan. 13, 2024, hopes to return for the first World Cup downhill stop this season — early December in Beaver Creek, Colorado — according to a VG report last week.
