Team plan behind Fisher-Black sitting out Tour
The best young rider in the world will be watching from home when the Tour de France Femmes gets under way in Paris tomorrow.
New Zealand cycling star Niamh Fisher-Black is coming off an impressive top-five finish at the Giro d’Italia Donne last week, but she has known all year that she will not be racing the first women’s Tour de France.
The only two New Zealand riders confirmed on the start list for the eight-stage race are Ally Wollaston and Henrietta Christie, with FisherBlack’s team SD Worx believing it was better for her development to focus on the Giro.
Up until the inclusion of the Tour, the Giro d’Italia has been considered the biggest stage race in women’s cycling and Fisher-Black made the most of a rare opportunity to ride for general classification honours by achieving her best-ever result.
The Nelson rider showed she could climb with the best riders in the peloton and was particularly prominent on uphill stages 7-9, breaking into the top five and staying there.
As well as finishing fifth overall, Fisher-Black also successfully defended the white jersey, winning the best young rider classification for the second year in a row.
‘‘Some of my best performances were at the Giro last week,’’ FisherBlack said.
‘‘I knew we weren’t going in with our lead riders from the team, so it would be a nice opportunity for me and I said at the beginning of the tour that it was my goal to get top five on the GC, so that’s what I was aiming for.
‘‘We are one of the best teams in the world so I have really good riders on my team and normally I hide behind them and take opportunities when I can and help them when I can. I’m happy that I did the Giro because I got so much more opportunity than I usually would. It’s disappointing not to do the Tour but it would be a very different race from my perspective.’’
Fisher-Black had her heart set on racing the Tour de France Femmes because of how big the men’s race is. But SD Worx felt it would be better for her long-term if she took on a bigger role at the Giro d’Italia instead. ‘‘But at the end of the day I can take just as much out of the Giro. If anything it’s a harder race because it’s longer, it just doesn’t have the same prestige.’’
Fisher-Black turned her attention to preparing for the Commonwealth Games once the Giro was over.
The 21-year-old has been selected in an exciting and versatile New Zealand team with genuine medal potential. The circuit course in Birmingham should best suit in-form AG Insurance-NXTG Team sprinter Wollaston, who will race the Tour de France after a recent stage win and podium finish at the Belgium Tour.
Fisher-Black said she would likely try her luck in a breakaway, but she also would be happy to ride in support of Wollaston if the race came down to a sprint finish.