Recovering ski racer Cyprien Sarrazin has shared a video of himself back on skis on his social media channels, nearly one year after his near-fatal crash. The French ski racer had crashed in December 2024 during Downhill training in Bormio, Italy, and had suffered serious head trauma. In an interview months later, he bluntly admitted, that he had nearly died and that his survival was a miracle.
The French ski racers return to the snow is the celebration of Sarrazin’s will to come back from his traumatic brain injury. The 31-year-old has been steadily working on his recovery and announced his intention to return to ski racing in 2026-27 in August this year. Seeing Sarrazin back on the snow is a momentous first step towards his comeback.
“The vibes were good… nothing can beat this!
I did well for taking my time.
I may not yet realize how far I’ve come so far… probably because there’s a long way to go before I can ski like I want to, without knee pain.But hey! This is a more than positive first step
And most of all… Thank you to all the people who have helped me and accompanied me so far. Without you, nothing would be possible ”
— Cyprien Sarrazin on Instagram
Sarrazin had been at the peak of his career prior to his devastating crash. During the 2023-24 season, the French speed specialist had won four World Cup events, including both of the famous Hahnenkamm Downhills at Kitzbühel, Austria, finishing the season in fifth place in the Downhill standings. He had started the 2024-25 season with a second place in Beaver Creek and had been considered the favorite to win the Bormio Downhill after winning on the Stelvio course the year before and leading the Downhill training the day before his crash. During his fateful run, he came off the final jump on the Stelvio course at an awkward angle, flying sideways and nearly landing backward on the hard-packed slope. He spun out of control, hitting his head before sliding motionlessly into the safety nets below, seemingly unconscious. Bormio’s Stelvio slope is known as one of the most demanding on the World Cup circuit.
The video of Sarrazin’s first turns on snow are a joyful celebration of his passion for skiing—he has previously shared that he is not suffering from any mental block due to memory loss of the events surrounding his crash. “I don’t remember the 20 meters before the fall, nor the five days after surgery. And that’s for the best—it means I don’t have post-traumatic stress disorder,” he explained. There is, however, no set time line for his return to ski racing and the speed specialist acknowledged how lucky he was last year, “I’ve already used a joker, I don’t want to burn another one.” So, rather than frame this as the start of a comeback, let’s see this as an athlete reclaiming the love for a sport that nearly cost him his life.
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