Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Downhill Training - Bormio, Italy - December 27, 2024 France's Cyprien Sarrazin is transported to a hospital by helicopter REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
(Reuters) -French skier Cyprien Sarrazin will have surgery to drain a bleed in his brain after falling while training for the World Cup downhill in Bormio, Italy, the French Ski Federation (FFS) said on Friday.
Sarrazin, who won at the venue last year, was transported to hospital by helicopter after losing control during his second practice run, bouncing off the surface and sliding a long way. French media reports said he was conscious after the fall.
"Following further examinations and the progress of Cyprien's clinical examination, it has been decided, in agreement with the Italian surgeons, to operate on Cyprien this evening in order to drain the subdural haematoma," the FFS said in a statement.
French Alpine skiing team doctor Stephane Bulle had earlier said Sarrazin was conscious but remained under surveillance.
The 30-year-old had set the fastest time on the first training run the day before.
Sarrazin won three downhill races in the previous World Cup, along with a Super-G race in January to finish fifth overall.
(Reporting by Vincent Daheron and Chiranjit Ojha; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Pritha Sarkar)
