"I could become a vegetable or worse": Retired French professional warns to not underestimate concussions

Marc Sarreau made a name for himself as a back-up sprinter of Groupama - FDJ, often played as a leader in French Cup and smaller stage races where he scored 17 professional victories. In that regard 2019 was the best year of his 10 seasons with the French formation, winning five races at the 1.1 level in France. However the 32-year-old Sarreau is no longer active on the road as he hung up his bicycle last winter, despite a running contract through 2026. The reason for this sudden decision was revealed in a recent interview:

"At the end of September 2024, Marc Madiot, the team boss, called me to announce that, given the head problems I'd been having since June and that weren't healing, they wanted to keep me safe," explained Sarreau in an interview with Le Parisien.

Without those problems, he would have been able to continue racing and, in fact, had already signed a new contract with the team: "They feared that another crash could cause something worse. And so my two-year renewal was cancelled."

"Every day I had headaches, difficulty concentrating, and fatigue," the 32-year-old added, speaking of the symptoms he experienced daily. "I was no longer able to train or participate in races as I would have liked. The symptoms worsened over time, until they became alarming. The more tired I became, the worse they got. Sometimes I thought I might fall at any moment. I felt unresponsive. Nothing was right. After a few races, I told myself I could never ride again."

Sarreau underwent several tests to figure out whether his return to full strength was possible, but the news were not positive. In fact, rather than recovering on its own over time, his brain was still struggling to deal with the consequences of his concussion even half a year later: "The tests were very negative. The idea was to see if I was making progress. But in reality, there was no improvement. At that point, I realized it was serious."

A consultation with a specialist then brought about the painful truth: "He told me, 'There really is a problem. You've suffered too many head injuries. You're now fragile. The more you fall, the worse it will get.' I realized that if I fell again, I could become a vegetable, or even worse."

In recent years, cycling has addressed the issue by introducing protocols for managing concussions, but Sarreau's story highlights how some signs still seem to be underestimated: "I crashed at the GP Denain in March. At the end of the race, I got into the wrong car. And in the hospital, a doctor told me I'd fallen head-first, while I thought I'd simply fallen without hitting my head."

The consequences of concussions are still felt today by the former cyclist: "I used to forget nothing. Now my partner has to remind me of a lot of things. I've realized that the brain is like a points-based driving license. I slowly used up my points. And I wasn't far from running out of them... "