Autumn 2019: the FIS decides to ban the use of fluorinated waxes from the 2020/2021 season. However, 3 years later, this is not the case. The ban has now been pushed back to the 2023/2024 season. The reason? There is currently no reliable method for detecting… fluorine. In other words, those who defy the ban.
Last year, the newspaper “L’Equipe” revealed in an investigation the dramatic consequences of fluoride in the 80s and 90s on the health of those who handled it. But for Jovian Hediger, the situation is no longer the same today. “At the time, we waxed without any protection. Today, that no longer exists: the trucks are ventilated and the technicians wear masks. There is perhaps a discrepancy between the analysis that we do on people who for years have worked under certain conditions and today“, including the Bellerins.
We left too quickly in my eyes by immediately wanting to ban
![Jovian Hediger believes that the FIS made a hasty decision. [Floriane Galaud - RTS]]()
![Jovian Hediger believes that the FIS made a hasty decision. [Floriane Galaud - RTS]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rts.ch/2023/01/31/10/16/13746332.image?w=320&h=320&ssl=1)
Laurent Donzé, president of Romandie ski de fond, agrees: “These products are essentially dangerous insofar as they are not used according to the rules laid down. This means airing the room but above all not overheating them. At the time, we didn’t talk about it too much even if we said all the same that we had to avoid inhaling the smoke. There were rumors going around, warnings in the brochures but no one read them. The goal of the coaches was performance and not to worry about the harmfulness of the product. If the product works, it’s good. In addition, the vapors are invisible so we underestimate their importance.“
Still, the FIS took a decision a few years ago to ban fluorinated waxes. Problem, the application of this ban is a real headache for the world of cross-country skiing and is constantly postponed.
“We left too quickly in my eyes by wanting to ban immediately, immediately apply the ban, when we did not yet have the means to do so. The problem is that as soon as we cannot control and enforce these prohibitions, things become extremely complicated.“Jovian Hediger does not mince his words. For the former cross-country skier, the FIS made a hasty decision.
“There are things that are developing, but it’s not yet on the level. Perhaps, little by little, we will succeed in overtaking fluorinated products, but we are still in this transition phase. For the moment, we are clearly at a disadvantage on certain snow without fluoride.”
Laurent Donzé abounds: “We are touching on a rather interesting problem because there are people who have good intentions, who say that the product is potentially toxic. So we are going to ban it without thinking about the consequences and whether we can accept such a ban..”
You cannot heat the ski or take a sample
![For Laurent Donzé, the mission given to scientists is complicated. [Floriane Galaud - RTS]]()
![For Laurent Donzé, the mission given to scientists is complicated. [Floriane Galaud - RTS]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rts.ch/2023/01/31/10/18/13746337.image?w=320&h=320&ssl=1)
And indeed: so far, no tool has been able to detect possible traces of fluorine on skis. “The method must not be invasive, you cannot heat the ski or take a sample“, Ton Donzé. “The scientists were given a mission which, for me, is impossible to carry out. We saw during the first tests that the answers given were not applicable. There is a huge gap between the FIS’s desire to ban fluorinated products and the answer provided by science.”
And the former chemist and professor to continue. “It is enough to use a brush which has had fluoride so that the product is found on the ski. So, what do we put as a limit? Do we accept a certain dose?“
Jovian Hediger provides a first answer. “The FIS will set up a test at the end of the season, at a World Cup. I don’t have all the details in mind, but the idea is to allow a limited number of skis per athlete on race day. Waxing will be obligatory via the organizer or in any case the wax will be given by the organizer in a common room. As the test will take place during a sprint, athletes will not be able to change skis or re-tar.“
A use of non-fluorinated waxes but above all fairness between all athletes: “As long as everyone fights with the same weapons, for me there is no problem“, concludes the former founder.
Floriane Galaud