Almost two months since he had given up a bib, five weeks since his fall during training in Norway, barely a week since he started skiing again… Cyprien Sarrazin came a long way this Friday but showed that he was already back.
Under the bright sun and spring temperatures of the Austrian resort of Saalbach which will host the Worlds in 2025, the skier from Dévoluy, new hero of French skiing since his crazy double in Kitzbühel in January, “had fun” to take the fourth place in the last super-G of the winter just ahead of his great Swiss rival and winner of the specialty globe Marco Odermatt (5th).
“I’m happy to be back in the game,” Sarrazin explained with a smile after his race. ” That’s it, here we go again. It wasn’t easy to go fast, I made a few mistakes but the skiing is there, it’s very good for coming back from an injury. »
“A little scare” before Sunday’s descent
“Cyp”, slowed down since mid-February by a fall in Kvitfjell (Norway) and a hematoma which took time to disappear, nevertheless gave himself a scare at the end of the race. Launched at full speed into the last wall, he hit a door head-on in his arm and helmet and was thrown off balance. “I took the pole in the face,” he then said, laughing. “I was a bit too excited today, in super-G I always have a little too much desire… I didn’t go out but I gave myself a little scare. »
Despite this error which could have cost him much more, Sarrazin was only overtaken by a Swiss hat-trick that no one saw coming. Stefan Rogentin offered himself his first World Cup victory at the age of 29 ahead of Loïc Meillard (+ 0′’03) and Arnaud Boisset (+ 0′’15). Although he had to settle for fifth place behind his three teammates and Sarrazin, Marco Odermatt earned his third globe of the winter by winning the super-G, after the giant and the general classification. The only thing missing is the descent.
He is currently 42 points ahead of Sarrazin, a comfortable margin but which does not exclude a big comeback from the Frenchman with whom he shared the victories of the most legendary races on the circuit this season (Bormio and Kitzbühel for Sarrazin, Wengen for Odermatt). “Marco told me: the game is on, welcome back,” said Sarrazin on Friday after his super-G, he who is not yet planning on Sunday’s race but first wants to rest and “enjoy the ‘atmosphere here’.
“We’ll see with the weather,” he said, as the very mild temperatures and then the snowfall forecast for the night from Saturday to Sunday could finish off an already fragile track. “I hope it won’t be mother nature that decides our battle. I hope it will be a great race and if conditions allow: let’s go! »
