Ride: Team Stöckli started under your leadership in 2016, but when was team manager Ralph Näf really born?

Ralph Näf: When I was 30, in 2010, I knew that I wanted to become a team manager after my racing career. My dream came true when I was still a professional at Merida.

But why team manager? To give something back to the sport...

I've always had lots of ideas and have always enjoyed implementing them. Back then, it was parties in the off-season, bike weekends, but also events for sponsors. And I always felt the need to build a team and ride according to my own ideas. To achieve something together and also give something back to the sport that still shapes me today.

At the end of your career, you could have settled into a nest made by a big team. Why did you choose the "rockier road" with Stöckli back then?

The opportunity with Stöckli was cooler and more exciting for me to be able to build something with Swiss riders, so nothing else was an option for me. Financially, I might have been in a better position elsewhere. However, I considered my own team with Stöckli to be more sustainable and had a higher emotional value for me. At the time, there were too many strong Swiss riders but too few teams, which also encouraged me to start this story. Incidentally, it started in 2015 at the World Cup in Lenzerheide, also thanks to Jolanda Neff, who suggested me to Stöckli for this task.

Apropos financially; the situation wasn't easy back then in terms of sponsorship either, and yet you carried on after the end with Stöckli.

I tried my hand at a few enduro races as a professional, where I became friends with the former 4x world champion Joost Wichmann. He then brought me into Radon and allowed my team to race for another year. 

For just one year? 

I only wanted a trial year with an option for more. The partnership wasn't ideal, and so it stayed at that one year. I knew I could always get bikes, the financial means were more of a chunk. And I managed that from my own cash, as an investment for the future of the team, so to speak.

And that obviously paid off.

At the time, some people, including close friends and industry insiders, advised me against continuing the team under these circumstances. But I firmly believed in it and then, thanks to my long-time friend and supporter René Walker, the company Thömus stepped in, at the time as emergency aid, for a year or two. I was also lucky enough to have good contacts who expanded my network even further. Thanks to a lot of people in the background, I was able to implement my idea and pursue my goals with the team. The riders also wanted the team and gave up their wages to work together on the vision.

The financial situation then stabilized?

Yes, but we grew slowly over the years and operated very frugally. For a few years, I lent the team space in my home for the materials store and my private campervan. We were and still are able to count on a few volunteers. Without them, racing would hardly be possible.

In the video, Alessandra and Mathias praise the high level of professionalism, but also the family vibe. Did you get the former from your time at Merida?

No, not really. Everything I did, I did 100 percent, but only as long as I enjoyed it. But we were already living that at Merida. José Hermida and I were and still are friends, had a lot of fun together, but worked highly professionally when the time was right. We live the same life at Thömus-maxon.

And the family atmosphere?

I was often the one who liked to have fun and always looked for people who appreciated and shared this. I took that into the team, where it is also appreciated and practiced. At the same time, everyone trusts each other to work in an extremely professional manner and to stick together.

Sticking together is also important to you when things get tough with your athletes?

I would never have wanted a rider like me in the team: Inconsistent, sometimes top, sometimes out after a few laps. And now I'm lucky enough to have very consistent drivers. However, no rider is ever 100 percent consistent, so sometimes they ride through a low. There's an understanding for that and again, that's where I can pass on my experience of how to perform again after a low. Alessandra with cruciate ligaments and Vital, who had a rough season. We work with all the riders over the long term, so there are ups and downs. And everyone has shown so far that they can celebrate success again after a low.

And in order to celebrate success, you have created new training and competition incentives and set up a road team. And it's led by an old acquaintance - your first team boss Bruno Diethelm.

That's right, Bruno Diethelm has been one of my companions since my early days. It's great that, after his time as national coach, we've now been able to appoint him as manager of our road team. He is also the sporting director of the Thömus junior program "Thömus-Akros". Bruno lives the sport and you can always count on him when you need him.

So you're well prepared for the home world championships?

In any case, but not just for that. The plan is to continue until 2028. After all, I still have a clear goal. I want to become the number one team in the World Cup with Thömus-maxon. That's ambitious, but achievable. And it would be a well-deserved accolade for everyone, including the coaches and helpers in the background.