Sarrazin grabs debut downhill title on wild Bormio piste

On the long, dark, icy and bumpy rollercoaster that is the legendary Stelvio piste in Bormio, Cyprien Sarrazin (FRA) put in the performance of a lifetime to grab his first downhill Audi FIS World Cup win – somehow seeing a line where others faltered and tumbled.

29-year-old Sarrazin won a parallel giant slalom in Alta Badia back in 2016, and finished second in the giant slalom at Alta Badia in 2019, but this aggressive-yet-calm performance was his finest moment, and defied the conditions.

Marco Odermatt (SUI) came second with a run he rated as highly as his World Championship downhill triumph, while Canada’s Cameron Alexander (CAN) secured third place.

The unforgiving track took several notable victims, however, including Dominik Paris (ITA), while last season’s downhill champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) and last year’s Bormio winner Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) both caught stones on the course.

Sarrazin, from Gap in the French Alps, seemed to be racing a different course to the rest. Selecting a brilliant choice of line on the upper section, he looked in harmony with the tricky mountain throughout, and carried his speed onto the more technical lower section with ease.

He is the first French men’s downhill winner at Bormio since 1996, when Luc Alphond took the title. At the finish, Sarrazin still seemed energised where others looked exhausted.

“Finally I did a great run from the first gate to the finish line,” he said afterwards. “I felt so great, I enjoyed it. I pushed all along. I think it’s crazy. When I crossed the line I thought ‘yes, you did your job, and it is amazing’.

“It means a lot for me. After all the injuries, bad moments and good moments in my career, today I feel great. I wasn’t nervous, I knew I could do something. I said, just be yourself and see what happens.”

Marco Odermatt (SUI), meanwhile, didn’t manage to log his debut  FIS World Cup downhill first place finish, but he did put in one of his favourite-ever second place skis.

“It was one of my best downhills, I’m not sure if it was less good than the World Championship downhill win,” he said. “I crossed the finish and I thought, ‘that’s it’.

“I went straight to Sarrazin to congratulate him for the victory, because that’s one of my best skiing [performances] ever, and from him as well, I guess.”

Cameron Alexander (CAN), 26, who won the downhill in Kvitfjell back in March, was satisfied with third.

“I knew it was going to be a fight today,” he said. “It’s Bormio, so you have to fight all the way down. It never really feels that good anywhere. Props to Cyprien and Marco, they obviously skied really well.”

Many big names struggled with the course however, and bad luck played a part. The King of Bormio, Dominik Paris (ITA), who has triumphed in the downhill six times here, was looking on target for another podium, but fell in the mid-section of the race, catching his inside ski on a bump.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), last season’s downhill champion, was also looking at his bullish best: he was inside Sarrazin’s time but had a mishap mid-course.

“It felt like I hit a rock, and I looked at the ski when I came to the finish – inside on the left ski had a rips in it, and then it’s impossible to ski Bormio after that because it’s so icy,” he said.

“I actually just stopped because I knew it would be dangerous. It’s a pity. I feel really good in my skiing, but this is a part of the game, we have lots of chances and new races coming up.

“I watched Cyprien and I knew I had to send it. I was really fired up today but you need four edges to win a run like that.”

Last year’s Bormio winner Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), also caught a stone, which slowed him down significantly.

The most concerning moment of the day however was the crash of Marco Schwarz (AUT). The Austrian, who is skiing all four main disciplines, caught a rut and careered into the nets. He was helicoptered to hospital with a suspected right knee injury.

The unfortunate incident saw Odermatt ahead of him on points in the battle for the overall FIS crystal globe. Racing continues tomorrow in Bormio with the men’s super G.