Cyprien Sarrazin has had to overcome himself internally in order to be successful as a ski racer. After a long struggle, the 30-year-old Frenchman has managed to get his mental side right.
06.12.2024, 07:00
06.12.2024, 08:00
SDA
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- Cyprien Sarrazin has had a meteoric rise.
- Almost two years ago, the current top downhill racer sought psychological help. It was not an easy step for him to take. But this decision soon bore fruit.
- The sentence from his energy coach "You have the right to win", for example, had a big impact on Sarrazin. Four days later, he won the downhill in Bormio in December 2023, his first ever downhill victory.
He hesitates for a moment. The answer is not easy for him. "Probably not," says Cyprien Sarrazin in the finish area of the Birds of Prey slope, where the first World Cup downhill of the winter is on the program on Friday. In Beaver Creek in the US state of Colorado, last season's rising star made his debut at the highest level in the fastest discipline two years ago.
No, he didn't know, Sarrazin adds when asked whether he had disclosed his mental problems back then, when he had still refused to seek help. That time was not so long ago, just under two years ago. Back then, he was going from one disappointment to the next in his former core area of giant slalom, he owed the confirmation of his second place in Alta Badia almost five years ago.
"It was difficult for me to reveal my own self"
The signs were pointing to change. Taking part in the training camp in La Parva in Chile the summer before last with his colleagues from the speed department of the French national team finally led to his decision to permanently include downhill and super-G in his competition program.
Going to the psychologist was not easy for Sarrazin. "It was difficult for me to reveal my own self," says the Frenchman, who now also confides in an energy coach. He was absolutely right with his decision. His meteoric rise from a faller to a winner is proof enough. Sarrazin finally feels at home in his life - and of course in his profession as a ski racer. "I ski the way I am." The inner blockade is a thing of the past, he has the emotions under control that last came to the fore in the form of lovesickness after breaking up with his former girlfriend.
Missing the home World Cup opened a new portal
Sarrazin had a change of heart during the home World Championships almost two years ago, which he missed due to back problems and had to watch the races in Courchevel on screen instead. In hindsight, the injury was triggered by a bad crash two weeks earlier in the second downhill in Kitzbühel.
The Streif had brutally thrown him off as he entered the traverse before the finish slope. Sarrazin had once again landed in the safety net. As so often, the daredevil had overdone it in his attempt to test the limits. He had once again exceeded the limits of what was possible. He had fallen down many times - partly because his thoughts were completely elsewhere and his head was not clear, as he said. The ridge he was walking was a narrow and dangerous one. Driving down the slopes at speeds of well over a hundred kilometers per hour without full concentration was reckless.
Skepticism about psychology turned into conviction
Sarrazin found the missing piece of the solution to success as a top athlete in the world of psychology, which he had previously disdained. The skepticism soon gave way to the conviction that he had taken the right path. He recently gave two examples of this. The first is about downhill training on the Streif last January. "I made a mistake in the exact passage where I had crashed the previous year. I spoke to my psychologist about it - and the next day everything went well in the same place."
The second example concerned the time shortly before the downhill in Bormio almost twelve months ago. "My energy coach told me that I had the right to win." Sarrazin was initially amazed. But four days later, he conjured up a run for the history books on the notorious Stelvio slope and won the race ahead of Marco Odermatt. It was his first victory in only his tenth start in a World Cup downhill.
Sarrazin's impostor syndrome is gone
"Having the right to win". Sounds funny, the layman is also amazed. But the sentence has a background called Impostor, the so-called impostor syndrome, from which Sarrazin, according to his coaches, suffered. In specialist literature, the personality disorder is attributed to people "who doubt their own professional performance, who do not attribute their objective successes to their own abilities and skills".
Sarrazin no longer exhibits such symptoms. Instead, he says he has learned a lot about himself. "I have become aware of how I function after failures and difficult times." He also says that the journey is the most important thing for him. "The moments of success will remain forever. But everything we've done to get there will benefit me for the rest of my life."
Life in the spotlight
Sarrazin is literally doing well, very well in fact, with his new attitude - even with measured risk. It helps him in a working world that is no longer the same for him, where expectations have risen many times over after his resounding success last winter with the double on the Streif as the highlight.
Sarrazin believes he can handle it. "I no longer put myself under pressure. Instead, I'm happy that I've managed to enjoy all these moments without having to go too far and expose myself to the greatest danger." He has already become a man of public interest in his home country. He also does his best in this role, although he is not particularly comfortable living in the spotlight.
"My life has changed. But my values will remain the same. I'm sticking to them." Sarrazin spoke the sentences in response to the question without delay. The answer was not difficult for him.
