Nelson siblings shine on road at nationals
She’s watched her brother win enough races over the past two years that Niamh Fisher-Black felt it was about time she tasted victory too.
The 19-year-old produced the race of her life at the New Zealand championships in Cambridge on Sunday to win the 108km women’s road race, seeing off the challenge from Ella Harris and Teresa Adam with a powerful kick in the final stretch.
‘‘It was a big thing for me to come across that line and know that I won it,’’ Fisher-Black said. ‘‘Seeing my brother win so many national titles before, the pressure builds. But this time I really wanted it and I’m taking [the national jersey] to Europe, which is pretty cool.
‘‘I’ll ride with the New Zealand jersey in all the races I do now and my team has already made me a kit. It’s my first year as a professional so it’s pretty crazy that I’ll be representing the fern everywhere in every race I do.’’
Fisher-Black is one half of New Zealand cycling’s most exciting brother and sister duo. Her young brother Finn is a world record holder on the track and won both the under23 men’s time trial and road races at the national championships.
‘‘We push each other along and that sibling rivalry has always been there. It’s always been both of our passions and we’ve always been there for each other through the sport,’’ she said. ‘‘It felt like a long time coming for me because I’ve seen Finn do it so many times. I think I found myself cracking under the pressure a bit from my brother because I’ve watched him win so many races but I’m super happy that I can pull it off, and to see him get the jersey too was pretty cool.
‘‘It’s not very often you get to stand on the podium with your brother so that’s awesome.
‘‘We still ride together, but it’s usually me hanging on the back of him. There definitely used to be more of a rivalry when we were closer in competition but now we’re in completely different competition, we can be more support for each other than anything and it’s cool that we’ve developed that now.’’
Growing up in Nelson, one of New Zealand’s cycling hotbeds, Fisher-Black she has dreamed of making it as a professional rider. She rode on the track and mountains when she was younger before transitioning to the road.
Signed to Bigla-Katusha, Fisher-Black did not have long to celebrate Sunday’s victory. She flew out of Auckland that night bound for Europe.
‘‘It’s my first year with the team so it’s more about learning than anything and I know I’ll be playing big team roles this season but that’s just something I’ll have to do in my first year as a professional.’’
Finn will also be heading for Europe in the coming months, having signed a development contract with George Bennett’s Jumbo-Visma team.