“Tanguy (Nef)’s first objective today was to get to the bottom,” whispered the Swiss coaches after Levi’s slalom. The contract was more than fulfilled since the Genevan produced the best performance of his career to take 5th place in a spectacular slalom. For his 8th top 10 in the World Cup, he only missed four tenths to dispossess his teammate Loïc Meillard from the podium.
At 27, after three difficult seasons, the slalom skier from the end of the lake is rediscovering his best feelings. Those which allowed him to rank in the top 20 of the best slalom riders on the planet. Tanguy Nef has never looked as serene and sharp as in recent weeks and this was reflected in his brilliant performance on the Levi Black.
Tanguy Nef, you achieved your best career result in the first race of the season. Couldn’t have hoped for a better start?
We can’t. Levi is a special place. I didn’t think it would do it this way, it’s a nice 5e place. This proves that we have worked well. I did well to believe in myself. The preparation was perfect. I knew I had to reproduce what was done in training, I was confident. I managed to do it twice in the same race, which I haven’t necessarily been able to do in the past. It’s nice.
Was there something that clicked this summer?
Not necessarily during the summer, it already started last season when I started from scratch. We laughed about it in Ushuaïa, saying that there were 6 of us now. It’s already 60% taken. At the end of the last season in the European Cup, I was starting to have some good innings and it’s exactly this intensity that I wanted to work on this summer. I wasn’t the guy who was, historically, most often in front in practice. But this season, I arrived every morning to fight from the first round. I got used to the material. In other seasons, I was fast from the fourth or fifth round and there, systematically, I succeeded in the first. It gave me a lot of confidence, especially when skiing in difficult conditions like today.
Succeeding in training is one thing, but in racing it’s another. Have you also passed a mental milestone?
Afterwards, I didn’t arrive at the World Cup for nothing. I never doubted that. There have been difficult years, but the base has always been there. The mind, I know I have it. We discussed it well during the off-season, I had little expectations for the first races, but the goal was to ski, relax and simply have fun on the slope.
Three years we’ve been waiting for you at this level, again in the top 10. How do you manage these moments of frustration, when you can’t find the solutions?
There is doubt that sets in, but there is also a lot of learning. I’m not someone who arrived straight away like Loïc (Meillard), even though we are from the same year, we ran together for a long time. It took me a little longer to learn from my mistakes. I learn them on my own most often because I listen to my instincts a lot. And so doubt is part of this process. There was also the material. I now feel liberated on my skis. The proof is today.
Now what can we expect from you this winter after this first more than successful performance?
I will try to keep this line, to be intelligent in each race. This is Levi, it’s a track that I like, in difficult conditions. We have seen big names make mistakes. There are competitors that should not be buried just yet, because they are fierce and will come back. Not every race will be the same, but it’s a really good foundation to build on.
With this result, you have already fulfilled the selection criteria (editor’s note: a top 7 or two top 15 in a discipline) for the world championships in Saalbach in February.
It’s true that it’s not the thing we think about first. This had already happened to me a few years ago. Good, but I think the podium will be necessary for our team to qualify for the slalom at the World Championships. If we are not able to get on a podium, it will be difficult to get a medal, because that is the primary objective.
The coaches believe that you, the six athletes in the slalom group, are capable of getting on the podium. Is this also your feeling, that you are no longer very far from the box?
On a material level, there is no longer any excuse. On a physical level, it seems to be okay. Afterwards, it will be the mind that will make the difference. You have to arrive at each race with a good vision, having done your homework, drawn up a plan and above all executed it. Today I am more in control of where I am and the approach to the race. Typically, I felt little pressure at first. It’s a luxury for me. Here, it’s Loïc (Meillard) who takes all the pressure. But this may change.
You are also often compared to a mad dog. Is this crazy dog still around?
I am no longer the young person who arrived here in Levi six years ago and who told himself that it was just a “shot” and go. But is this crazy dog still hiding somewhere? I think so. Will he be able to go out to events? Possibly. For the moment, he is not the one we are looking for and we are keeping him warm. The goal is to build stability: get into the 20s, into the 15s, and then anything can happen.
You have also often had discussions with the coaches about the way you operate. Did you evolve to take a step in their direction or was it the opposite?
I think there was a joint evolution, we had great discussions. Besides, I thank Matteo Joris (editor’s note: the head coach of the Swiss slalom team). He has a strong character, just like me. When things went wrong, it was for both sides. There was frustration. But now the preparation went very well, the discussions were constructive. I also saw how the team functioned without me last year and I was looking forward to rejoining this group. I had one of the best summers of my career preparing. And it is no coincidence that I am here today, it is thanks to this team that I was also able to achieve this result.
Johan Tachet/LMO, Levi
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