PHOTO: Bildbyrån
With the fluorine ban in the slopes of skiing, the margin for making mistakes has shrunk, the Swedish cross-country stars believe.
– There can be such a big difference that it’s scary, says Jonna Sundling.
– If you miss the herding, you don’t have a chance, says Frida Karlsson.
When the total ban on fluoride wax was to be introduced last season, it was described as “the biggest change we’ve had in skiing” by Mats Eklundfluoride coordinator at the Skiing Association.
It was an adjustment, to say the least, according to several of the Swedish cross-country stars.
– We went on some mines last season with the fluoride-free dam, says Frida Karlsson.
– You can have the best physiological day, but if you miss the calving with the fluoride-free, you don’t have a chance. You can be in 16th place when you might have won if you had been competitive under your feet.
Big results at the WC
The fluoride ban was also felt in the biathlon, especially when it was hot and wet in the tracks.
– The World Cup is a prime example of how big an impact it can make. If you really hit it right or fail, the differences are enormous, says Elvira Öberg.
Sweden had a hard time getting it done with the skis in the first biathlon World Cup races. But one nation that really succeeded in the wet snow of Nove Mesto was France, who became the top nation with 13 World Cup medals.
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The biathletes’ range manager Mats Eriksson says that the other nations have now caught up with France.
– There are new products all the time, especially for warmer and wetter conditions where the biggest problem lies and the fluoride helped the most, he says.
Eriksson believes that it is not just a matter of replacing the fluorine wax, but the most important thing to produce good skis is the right skis.
– Then you have the grinding and then the walling job and the structure, he says.
New products are tested
The length star also draws that conclusion Ebba Andersson.
– There could be a significantly greater difference between different types of make (of skis). One weekend it might be beneficial to compete on the brand I drive, another weekend it was a different brand that was a little better for what was going on, says Andersson.
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A lot of new products have come out on the ski side, and the fencing teams in the national ski and biathlon teams are currently fully testing.
– It will be incredibly important that we active and herders have good cooperation and good communication between us, says Jonna Sundling.
Both the skiers and the biathletes have their World Cup premieres in Finland this weekend.
About the fluorowala ban:
An EU directive in 2019 resulted in FIS (International Skiing and Snowboarding Federation) and IBU (International Biathlon Union) deciding on a ban on fluoridated rims. The decision was made for environmental reasons.
The problem has been to create a reliable control apparatus. Therefore, the ban has been postponed several times, but it was introduced before the 2023–2024 season.
The challenge for many clubs is that it costs a lot of money to replace old fluorosilk and silage equipment with new ones.
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