Cyclist eyes up world champs
Nelson teenage cycling prodigy Finn Fisher-Black, touted as one of New Zealand’s next big talents, says his path to success started on Nelson’s mountainbiking tracks.
Fisher-Black is the New Zealand junior individual time trial road cycling champion and is heading to the junior track world championships in Switzerland in August.
He said the skills learnt on Nelson’s hills had been directly transferable to the road and track and helped make him the cyclist he was today.
‘‘Mountainbiking has given me way more confidence on the road,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s just helped my bike handling skills and the way I handle corners and the way I handle people crashing in front of me, losing traction and just unexpected things.
‘‘It’s definitely my roots, so without that mountainbiking club in Nelson I probably wouldn’t be on the bike today.’’
Many of Tasman’s best cyclists, including professional riders George Bennett and Jack Bauer, also cut their teeth out and about on the region’s hills.
Fisher-Black’s dad Jim Black said his son’s general love for cycling was first developed through mountainbiking.
He said Nelson’s tracks provided an opportunity for other youngsters to develop a similar love.
Fisher-Black said Nelson was a playground for cyclists and its surroundings made it the perfect environment for breeding cycling talent.
‘‘It’s a little pressure cooker. When you go into cycling in Nelson you tend to do a bit of everything,’’ Fisher-Black said.
‘‘You do a bit of mountainbiking, you do a bit of track and you do a bit of road racing. It’s all here and accessible.’’