Lambiel began his season at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, which was the qualifying competition for countries that did not already have Olympic slots. Lambiel finished first in the short with 77.45 points, falling on his quadruple toe-loop but receiving a level four on all of his spins. He also won the free skate with a score of 154.91 points; he landed a quadruple toe loop-double toe loop-double toe loop combination and a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, and received a level four on two of his spins. His program components score was high in both segments of the competition and he won the title with 232.36 points, qualifying Switzerland for the 2010 Winter Olympics.