This is the story of a fighter. Even a fighter. Before, during and despite the illness he overcame, Cyril Del Pistoia always did everything “to the maximum”. Three Masters in parallel, a brilliant start to his career in the United States and sporting achievements. Ten years after a serious case of leukemia, from which doctors thought he would not recover, this 35-year-old from Nice, expatriated to Los Angeles, continues to defy all odds.
This Sunday morning, on the Promenade des Anglais, despite the traces left by the cancer which almost killed him and by the bone marrow transplant which finally saved him, he took the start of the Ironman World Championship, the one of the longest and most demanding triathlon formats, which is being held for the first time in the capital of the French Riviera.
“Do extraordinary things again” after illness
His participation in this competition, which brings together the best of the best in the discipline, is a symbol. Moved by his story, the organizers invited him. He couldn’t have qualified for it. He’s not here to win. But at least to “progress”. Still and always. This is his credo. The 30-year-old hopes to complete the incredible course (3.8 km swimming, 180.2 km cycling, 42.195 km running, i.e. a marathon) in twelve hours. “And that would already be exceptional, he confided before the big departure to 20 minutes. Last year, over the same distance, after a preparation complicated by Covid and angina, I had done 13 hours and 30 minutes. The best ones will be able to complete all of this in less than 8 hours and 30 minutes. »
“By doing this, if I manage to motivate even one person currently in a hospital bed to think that we can come back to life, that we can, despite cancer, despite transplant, redo extraordinary things, I will be the happiest”, explains Cyril Del Pistoia. For him, this morning of 2012 in Paris, when the diagnosis falls following intense fatigue and pain in the upper chest, hopes are however showered. “They tell me it’s leukemia and they make me understand that I have very little chance of survival. »
Lost lung capacity and very low heat resistance
This is followed by a month and a half of intensive care and chemotherapy “with the dose intended for children, which is much stronger, because their bodies can take more of it”, he says. Effective, but far from sufficient. His days are numbered. But the young man of then 24 years does not give up. He even convinces the doctors to let him use an exercise bike in his hospital room. To keep moving.
“I was then told about an experimental treatment that would release the activity of our antibodies. I sign a release. And in less than a month, the doctors were unable to find a single cancerous cell in my blood. » Encouraging. To allow its remission, it is necessary to consider a bone marrow transplant and therefore proceed to a total body irradiation to prevent rejection. The last chance operation, but not without consequence. “It burns everything. I lost 35% of lung capacity on exercise and I have very low resistance to heat. »
But the transplant works. And the cancer disappears. A few months in isolation, to prevent any infection (his immune system having been totally decimated by the disease and the operations) and to regain his strength, then the return to life. He starts a new job the following January “because you have to pay the rent”. It’s hard. Very difficult. “At the time, in Paris [où il s’était installé pour faire une école d’ingénieur], I lived on the sixth floor without an elevator. It took me 40 minutes, with breaks every ten steps, to climb everything,” recalls Cyril Del Pistoia.
Soon at the “world running championship”?
But nothing stops him. He gradually regains his abilities. Always “at the maximum”, without ever limiting himself to ease, he even obtained authorization from the doctors to be able to work offshore on oil tankers, just one year after the transplant. On site, in the gym, he takes up cycling again, just as crescendo, in stages. First a little bit, then 5 km, then 10 km of cycling. Life returns to its normal course as the threat of a possible relapse recedes. At the same time, he created companies, then joined, in 2016, one of the leaders in Internet marketing. The following year, he flew to the United States for even more responsibilities. And new things. And challenges. He also trained to fly planes. Nothing stops him.
Sporting performances are also linked. Jogging, marathon and finally triathlon. In April of this year, he represented the French team at the World Transplant Games, winning the title in his age category. After the Ironman, he already knows what his next goal will be: “I would like to qualify for the Boston Marathon which is somewhat considered the world running championship”.
“I have always had a huge appetite for life, to do as much as possible, to discover the world. I grew up in Nice in a popular district and I fought to integrate the best schools thanks to scholarships. I worked, a lot. I played sports a lot. Even before the illness, he explains. The transplant also made me understand that this life, for each of us, is the last, and that we must make the most of it. I always wanted to be an Ironman so I did everything to make it happen. »