In cross-country skiing, the wrong wax can cost you a race, while the right wax can help you reach the podium. This highlights the importance of waxing in this discipline.
The system designed by the researchers includes a cart mounted on skis with a load simulating a skier. The cart is connected to a winch, and the researchers measure the force required to set the cart in motion and to move it at a given speed.
Nicolas Quirion Cantin
In
an article recently published in the journal
Sports Engineering, researchers from Université Laval present a system they designed to help waxing specialists choose the best ski-wax combination for elite athletes.
"Currently, the choice of ski-wax combination relies on the expertise of waxing specialists, the results of glide tests conducted on the slopes on competition days, and the 'feelings' of skiers during pre-race trials," explains one of the study's authors,
Julien Lépine, a professor in the Department of Operations and Decision Systems at Université Laval, a mechanical engineer, and a former university-level cross-country skier.
This approach works in the vast majority of cases, but it can sometimes lead to poor choices that affect athletes' performance, he adds. "Moreover, waxing 'recipes' were developed using waxes containing fluorinated compounds. These waxes are now banned, and we must adapt to new waxing products. We're back to square one."
To bring more science into the art of waxing, Professor Lépine, research student Nicolas Quirion Cantin, and Professor
André Bégin-Drolet from the Department of Mechanical Engineering designed and built a tribometer to measure the friction forces between skis and snow.
Due to the friction between skis and snow, the choice of skis and wax strongly influences the performance of elite athletes.
Gibson Pictures
Their system includes a cart mounted on skis with a load simulating a skier. "The cart is connected to a winch, and we measure the force required to set the cart in motion and to move it at a given speed," explains Professor Lépine.
This system was tested in March 2023 on an experimental track set up on the Université Laval campus as part of the activities of the Nordic Campus. "The prototype works well and has produced interesting results that allowed us to simplify the testing protocol," summarizes the researcher.
In theory, this tribometer could be used before a competition to test different waxes on different ski models under specific snow conditions. "Our tribometer is not intended to replace waxing specialists," insists Professor Lépine, "but rather to provide them with data that will make their work easier. We believe our system could help them choose the ski-wax combination that will enable athletes to deliver their best possible performance."