PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Linn Svahn hails the new ban on fluoridated dikes – for the sake of the environment and the dikes.
– It must also be defensible that you have that job, says the skiing star.
The ban on fluoride has been in the works for several years, but was delayed due to the difficulty of finding a reliable testing system.
But now it is in place, and is celebrated by the Swedish national team stars.
– I think it is necessary considering that it is still an EU directive to phase out the fluorine. And for the health aspect. Imagine standing inside a hay trailer for many years and inhaling everything that is in there, says Lynn Svahn.
Is it a matter of conscience, that what you have under your feet poisons the dams that fix your skis?
– Absolutely. I also think about the conscience in that we are doing a sport that depends on the climate not changing drastically. We depend on so much other than ourselves, and we are sickly egocentric as athletes. You are, after all, you only focus on your goals and your way there, says Svahn.
“Biggest challenge”
In this weekend’s Swedish premiere in Gällivare, the rules are a little more lenient than what will apply this winter.
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Emma Ribom believe that the new ban will above all be a big adjustment for the clubs, rather than the national team.
– How it will be when we get to Gällivare and when we have to compete at the national level, I think that’s where the biggest challenge lies. For the smaller clubs that do not have the same resources as a national team, with a herd trailer and herdsmen who work and struggle with the issue all the time. That’s where I think the biggest challenge lies, she says.
Östersund’s SK rider Linn Svahn is on the same track.
– My club is not the biggest and there is a lot of time that needs to be spent on cleaning the stalls, you have to clean all the skaters’ skis and everything like that. To remove the stock you have of whey from several years ago. It’s a change that will be costly, but I still think it’s time for it to happen.
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Jonna Sundling believe that the riders will quickly get into the new directives. At the same time, there is a concern that something will go wrong.
– What I’m most afraid of is that you have to go there for something you haven’t done yourself. Or that you have gone somewhere in the snow and happened to get it on your skis. Or maybe someone has put on the skis and got fluoride on them, says Sundling.
Longer time on the uphills
Calle Halfvarsson paints a possible scenario:
– What could happen is that you feel that you have crappy skis compared to the others. And then it becomes like “But wait now… have I had some fucking fluoride on my skis now or not?”. It can become such a thing and it gets a bit boring if you have to worry about someone having “fluoridated” your skis just because you’ve done a good race.
The riders expect slower times out on the tracks. Especially when the conditions are a little tougher.
– If there are longer times, there will be a little more capacity and a little longer time on the uphills. It may not be very positive on the longer distances. In sprints, I don’t think it matters that much at all, says Edwin Anger.
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