Cyprien Sarrazin is unstoppable.
Already winner of the downhill in Bormio (Italy) and the Super-G in Wengen (Switzerland) this season, the Frenchman (29 years old) added a new line to his list of achievements this Friday.
And what a line!
The Super Dévoluy skier took on the legendary descent of Kitzbühel (Austria) on the very selective Streif slope.
Only two Tricolores have won on this track in history: Jean-Claude Killy, in 1967, and Luc Alphand, three times, in 1995 (twice) and 1997. A little nod to history, the native of Gap wore bib 14 during this descent, the same as Luc Alphand during his first victory on the Austrian track.
Also read “Cyprien is a poet”: Sarrazin, the skier from the South, humble and “discreet”, who shines on the downhill
The skier's confidence is at its zenith.
Starting very strongly at the top of the descent, carried out from the summit despite delicate weather conditions which forced the organizers to postpone the start by an hour, Cyprien Sarrazin lost a little time in the middle of the course before achieving a finish. exceptional descent.
He finally beat the surprising Italian Florian Schieder (+ 0''05) by a breath, who had previously stolen the best time from under the nose of the Swiss Marco Odermatt (+ 0''34), the leader of the ranking general of the World Cup.
Sarrazin climbs back into the Downhill World Cup rankings
The Kitzbühel track was not, however, a good memory for the Frenchman, who had crashed last year.
“When I arrived at the place of the fall
,
I think that unconsciously I had a little blockage,” he said after his first training session on Tuesday.
Result: I made a mistake.
It was the fault of the skis of course (broken higher up on the course), but there was something.
» It finally clicked at the best time, that of the competition.
🤩 Who just tamed the Streif as a boss?
BRAND NEW!
Follow the Kitzbühel descent on Eurosport #ChaletClub https://t.co/PTBGB8SFrS pic.twitter.com/z3fNrzzaCQ
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) January 19, 2024
This Saturday, Cyprien Sarrazin will have a new opportunity to shine during the second descent on the Austrian track.
Now 26 points behind Marco Odermatt in the general classification of the downhill, the Frenchman could even take the lead in the event of a result in his favor.
“It wasn't the perfect run, it wasn't easy,” Sarrazin reacted to Eurosport.
I finished with heart, I knew I had to finish strong with my mistake at the top.
My secret ?
I'm not going to give it to you, there's still a race tomorrow.
»
Two other French people appeared in the Top 10 after the passage of 30 competitors, Nils Allègre (9th) and Maxence Muzaton (10th).
Matthieu Bailet took 11th place.