• Sarrazin had surgery after suffering bleed on brain
• French skier crashed during World Cup training

The French skier Cyprien Sarrazin remains under sedation after undergoing a successful operation on a head injury. Sarrazin was hurt in a brutal crash on Friday during training for a World Cup downhill race in Bormio.

Sarrazin, who won the downhill on Bormio’s fearsome Stelvio course last year, was one of two skiers airlifted to hospital after crashing on the slope set to be used for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 14 months. He was placed in a neurological intensive care unit and later underwent surgery to drain a bleed near the brain.

“Cyprien Sarrazin was operated on yesterday night to decompress the intracranial haematoma,” the French ski federation said in a statement. “The operation went well, he remains under anaesthesia for the moment. We will communicate more information during the day.”

Pietro Zazzi of Italy was also taken to a hospital by helicopter after a crash. The incidents called into question the safety of the slope. “My opinion here is clear, it’s that they don’t know how to prepare a course,” Sarrazin’s teammate Nils Allègre said.