Cross-country skiing | Laurie Flochon-Joly undergoes emergency surgery for a ruptured lateral ligament in her right thumb: “I’ve got three weeks in a heavy splint and I can’t use my hand”

Cross-country skiing: Laurie Flochon-Joly takes a break just over a month before the launch of the Ski Classics

Almost a month ago, Cormaranche-en-Bugey (Ain) cross-country skier Laurie Flochon-Joly crashed during a mountain bike outing. Although her right thumb was sore following the tumble, there was no need to worry.

We thought it was a sprain because nothing was broken,” the new member of Team Futura Trentino tells Nordic Magazine. However, when we did an ultrasound scan at the start of the week, we saw that the lateral ligament in my thumb had been ruptured. So I trained for three weeks in a splint, thinking it would get better, and in the end I had emergency surgery on Thursday.

As winter approaches, Laurie Flochon-Joly must now be patient. “I’ve got three weeks in a big splint and I’m not allowed to use my hand until the scar has healed properly. After that, I’ll have to do physiotherapy to regain mobility and strength in my thumb. Incredibly, my thumb will be stuck in a splint for almost six weeks,” says the 28-year-old from Aindho.

“I don’t want to go too fast because the hand and thumb are quite sensitive areas”.

This mishap also happened to Antoine Lanne from Savoie and Juliette Ducordeau from Dauphiné earlier in the preparations, so the French long-distance cross-country skier can take some advice from them.

“For the moment, as it’s still new, I’m in a lot of pain, so I’m walking and doing home trainer. Little by little, I’ll start again, but we’ll have to see how the scar develops. I really don’t want to go too quickly because the hand and thumb are quite sensitive areas”, explains Laurie Flochon-Joly.

As far as her sporting goals are concerned, the Frenchwoman says she still has the opening of the Ski Classics on 15 December in mind. Ideally, I’d like to start cross-country skiing again at the beginning of December in Livigno during my team’s training camp,” she says. My big goals aren’t until the Marcialonga, at the end of January, so I’m not in a hurry to get back into shape in December.

“Positive and in good spirits”, in her own words, Laurie Flochon-Joly is taking this blow philosophically. ” Maybe this year I won’t burn out in March and that will allow me to finish the season well,” she concludes.

• Ski Classics: France’s Laurie Flochon-Joly and Margaux Gaillard sign with Team Futura Trentino
• “I had to get out of my comfort zone”: Laurie Flochon-Joly explains why she decided to leave TNE to join Team Futura Trentino
• The complete calendar for the 2025/2026 Ski Classics season