There are no more Swiss podium places to celebrate in the slalom in Wengen. Tanguy Nef, Loïc Meillard and Daniel Yule finish directly behind the top 3, with three Norwegians in front of the Swiss.
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- Norway rejoices in the slalom in Wengen: Atle Lie McGrath, Timon Haugan and Henrik Kristoffersen take a triple victory.
- Immediately behind them came a Swiss trio consisting of Tanguy Nef (4th), Loïc Meillard (5th) and Daniel Yule (6th).
- The Swiss are satisfied with their runs, but all think it's a shame that they missed the podium by such a narrow margin.
The Swiss festival in Wengen is slowed down a little on Sunday. After the victories on Friday and Saturday and a total of four podium places, the Swiss-Ski racers missed out on the top 3 by a wafer-thin margin on Sunday. The Norwegians are responsible for this, taking the Lauberhorn and celebrating a triple victory with Atle Lie McGrath, Timon Haugan and Henrik Kristoffersen.
They are followed by a Swiss trio of Tanguy Nef (4th), Loïc Meillard (5th) and Daniel Yule (6th). They all lost less than half a second to winner Atle Lie McGrath. "Of course it's a shame that we came fourth, fifth and sixth. Very little was missing," said Meillard in the finish area. After the first run, the currently best Swiss slalom skier was only in 24th place, then moved up to fifth place in the second run thanks to the best time and explained: "I got into the wrong rhythm in the first run, but in the second I was able to push and felt more comfortable."
"The timekeeping never lies"
Daniel Yule also put in a strong performance, achieving his best result of the season in 6th place: "An important step in the right direction, the turns are fast again. Sure, the two tenths missing the podium are a bit annoying, but tonight I'll be happy with my sixth place." However, being just off the podium is of course frustrating.
Yule comments on the fact that three Norwegians are on the podium with a mischievous laugh: "How nice it would be if they weren't there." Yule adds that we know that the Norwegians are very good skiers: "It's very close, hopefully we can turn the tables next time". But that's the beauty of skiing: "The timekeeping never lies."
The next chance to turn the tables will be for the Swiss slalom racers in Kitzbühel, where Yule has already claimed two victories and two third places: "Kitzbühel brings back very good memories, it's a slope that I really like. I always feel comfortable there."
Tanguy Nef with 95 percent
The closest to a Swiss podium finish this Sunday was Tanguy Nef, who conjured up a dream run in the snow in the first run with bib number 20 and was in third place at the halfway point. In the end it was fourth place and Nef summed it up afterwards: "For a moment I thought it would be enough for the podium, but the Norwegians were simply better." It was a shame, however, that he was only four hundredths short of knocking a Norwegian off the podium.
On his race plan, Nef says: "The aim was not to think too much and just attack." When asked whether it was 100 percent attack today, the man from Geneva explains: "Felix Neureuther once told me that 100 percent is too much in the slalom. So it was more like 95 percent. Except in the upper part of the second run, where I was a bit too good."
Nef narrowly missed out on the podium for the second time this season. He finished fifth in the first slalom of the season in Levi and fourth in Wengen. So will a podium finish be next? "That's the plan, of course. Maybe it will come this season, maybe not. But I'm there." You don't have to think too much about the result anyway.
So Nef's anger at missing out on a podium place is limited, but he says: "If I don't have a podium place by the end of the season, I might look back and think: what a shame, it could have been possible."
