From France to Saudi Arabia
Christophe Sargis is a fast French age grouper who resides in Saudi Arabia and has settled there. He shared some thoughts what it is like living and racing there.
Slowtwitch: Thank you for your time Christophe.
Christophe Sargis: Thank you slowtwitch for giving me this opportunity.
ST: How is life in Saudi Arabia?
Christophe: In a word fantastic. I’m working for the best oil company in the world (Saudi Aramco) and live in a fabulous environment. We do have everything to be happy here in Saudi Arabia, every day is another day in paradise.
ST: When did you move there?
Christophe: I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2004 but before was 5 years in Egypt, 3 years in Qatar, and 1 year in Indonesia. I left France in 1996.
ST: What do you miss about France and how often do you go back?
Christophe: I do miss from time to time the countryside, forests, nature in general. I usually travel 2 to 3 times a year to France.
ST: Any food items?
Christophe: Yes, the wonderful pastries that my mother cooks as well as some nice French cheese and specific bread. My diet is pretty simple, a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, pastas, rice and poultry and low fat dairy products. I drink only water and use some energy drinks mixed with water during races and long training sessions. I have kept the same weight for the past 30 years.
ST: Talk about your day job.
Christophe: I joined Saudi Aramco as a riding instructor, then become supervisor for the Dhahran Self Directed Groups Unit (all recreational activities) and moved to Power Systems one year ago where I’m in charge of the outreach program for energy efficiency kingdom wide.
ST: When you say riding instructor, you are referring to horses, right?
Christophe: Yes horseback riding instructor. I trained Japanese and Malaysian riders for the Olympic Games in Atlanta then trained the Qatar Show Jumping Team and the Egyptian Show Jumping Team.
ST: What was your last job in France before you left?
Christophe: I was working as a riding instructor and rider in a private equestrian center in North East of France.
ST: Do you still ride horses?
Christophe: Yes I’m still riding regularly. We do have two horses here in Dhahran and I teach my wife and two sons how to ride.
ST: Do you see yourself living in that part of the world for a long time?
Christophe: Definitely yes. I have been now in the Middle East for almost 20 years. My wife being Saudi, we are planning to live between Saudi Arabia and France after retirement.
ST: As a foreigner was it very difficult to meet her and subsequently be accepted by her family?
Christophe: Not at all. My wife has been working for 23 years with Saudi Aramco. When I joined the company a friend of mine who has working with my wife for more than 15 years told me about her and since I’m a muslim and wanted to get married, I jumped on the occasion and agreed to meet her and it’s been love at the first sight. Of course the process to get married took more than 18 months because it needs a royal decree. My wife’s family has always been very supportive and they have all accepted me from day one. We’ve been married now for 9 years and have two sons.
ST: You are a very avid triathlete and seem to race often. How much has the race scene around you changed in the last few years?
Christophe: I have won over 250 events including 100 triathlons in the Middle East since 2004 from 3km running races, half marathon, marathon, Sprint Distance Triathlon to full Ironman. The scene has changed drastically since Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa (son of the King of Bahrain) decided to create the Challenge Triple Crown, a series of three half-distance triathlons(Dubai-Oman-Bahrain) culminating with a grand final in Challenge Bahrain in December 2015 with a $1m prize purse. In 2004 we were between 30 to 40 participants to the local triathlons in KSA and Bahrain, most of the athletes were swimming with baggie pants, riding mountain bikes and running with t-shirt made of cotton. Last week during the Olympic distance in Bahrain we were over 300, everyone was swimming with a wetsuit, not a single mountain bike on the racks, more than 20 Specialized Shiv Pro bikes, many fast and costly time trial bicycles and all athletes have the latest gears and high tech clothes….it’s simply booming.
ST: Is it mostly ex pats, or do you see locals getting involved more?
Christophe: More locals, definitely more locals. Expats are coming and leaving and the number remains mostly the same. Locals are now taking more care of their health and are into physical activities including triathlon for some of them. They are more and more to join the fun.
ST: But you travel all over the world to races.
Christophe: We are very fortunate to have races in the Middle East on a weekly basis, KSA-Bahrain-Qatar-UAE and Kuwait have a huge races program. I competed in many Ironman including the World Championship in Hawaii as well as some Challenge competitions. Saudi Arabia has a strategic position between Europe, South Africa and Asia. You can reach many destinations without suffering from the jet lag.
ST: What is your favorite event and why?
Christophe: To be honest the inaugural Bahrain Challenge on December 6-2014 was out of this world. It was simply outstanding. I’ll put the Hawaii World Championship at the second place and Ironman South Africa third. The organization and the way pros and ages groupers have been treated during Challenge Bahrain were just amazing. From the race package to blocking a complete country for 4 hours to bringing a rock band like Dire Straits during the award ceremony as well as offering an amazing fireworks, everything was there; and this is just the beginning of a new era for triathlon. It’s unfortunate that the Ironman brand didn’t seriously consider the Middle East and it’s a fantastic opportunity for the Challenge Family to take the lead.
ST: What race are you currently getting ready for?
Christophe: Coming up are more than 40 events until December, including a Sprint Distance in Bahrain on April 10, Olympic Distance in Riyadh on May 8, an open water swim in Ras Tanura on May 29, Challenge Oman on August 7, Dubai International Long Distance on November 14, Challenge Bahrain on December 5.
ST: Challenge Oman will be 3 weeks after a month of fasting for Ramadan. How do you train while fasting?
To be honest, it is extremely easy. As soon as you are in the Ramadan mood, the body adapts. You just have to adjust the timing and of course get the green light from your wife to train since most of the sessions are done by night during the weeks and in the afternoon and sunset during the weekends.
During Ramadan Muslims must abstain from food, drink, gossip, cursing and other pleasures from dawn to dusk. Removing these comforts from daily routine is intended to focus the mind on prayer, spirituality, and charity and to purify the body and mind. It definitely helps you to become a better athlete as well because it gives you strength.
Ramadan is the ninth month on the Muslim calendar. It is celebrated as the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad.
ST: Have you done other races that were closer to Ramadan than the Oman one?
Christophe: I trained for the Ironman World Championship during Ramadan in 2009 and the temperature here in KSA were above 40 Celsius. I was swimming just before sunset and do the shorts sessions run or bike or short bricks in the night. The long sessions [6 hours on the bike followed by a 2 hour run] were scheduled during the weekend. I was cycling indoor until sunset, broke the fast on my bicycle with an odd number of dates and water and then run outside. It worked very well. It’s amazing how the human body can adapt to any situation or challenge.
ST: We saw you at Challenge Dubai. I think you were not completely happy with your day.
Christophe: Challenge Dubai was miserable for everyone I believe. We had such a bad weather from start to finish. It’s not been a pleasant race at all.
ST: Was the wind really that unusual? Or was there something else that made it miserable for you?
Christophe: We are used to the wind. I enjoy the swim but hated the bike leg especially on the open areas when the wind was blowing sand on us. It was not a pleasant day for triathlon.
ST: What does it take for you to walk away content from a race?
Christophe: I’m very competitive and very eager to win either an overall podium or my age category.
ST: I think your sons are very active and athletic, but do you think they will follow your athletic path?
Christophe: Family is the most important thing, but for me, good health is key to being a better husband, father, son, brother, athlete and employee every day. Personally I want to be a role model not only for the community and my company, but also for my family. My two sons Fares (7) and Saif (4) love swimming, biking and running, and they took part in several local events for children and were successful – coming back home with a medal around their necks. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
ST: Is there anything else we should know?
Christophe: I have always wanted to be as fit as my horses and I believe my biggest motivations for being fit nowadays is not only to be able to sustain success at each race but it is also to enjoy swimming, biking and running with my family for many years to come.
