Years ago when Niamh Fisher-Black heard the announcement that the UCI Road World Championships was set to take place in Wollongong, Australia – delivering just about the closest thing to a home race a New Zealander can get – the talented rider, who hadn’t even turned professional yet, set her sights on this race.
The 22-year-old’s record made it clear that she was an exciting prospect for New Zealand and not just for the U23 title but also the elite event, in which the category resided. A strong midseason, including fifth overall at the Giro d’Italia Donne as well as the youth classification win, unfortunately came to a grinding halt with a fractured collarbone in August at the Tour of Scandinavia, threatening to take her out of the running before the race had even begun.
“I really wanted to be here and I think that’s what drove me through the injuries and got me back on the bike and to come good again because I knew this was a good opportunity,” Fisher-Black told the media. “I’d heard about this really steep climb and this big mountain up Mount Keira and said ‘that’s for me’.
“I like climbs and I like it when it’s steep and hard,” said Fisher-Black of the 164.3km race with 2,433 metres of vertical ascent. “So I was really excited about this race for a long time and I’m glad I could get here and pull off a nice race.”
A ‘nice race’ that led to historic outcomes. Fisher-Black is the first-ever U23 women’s title holder in the road race and the first women from New Zealand to win a road race title at the Road World Championships, with Linda Villumsen winning the time trial in 2015.
Fisher-Black claimed the rainbow jersey by being the first U23 rider that came over the line within the elite women’s race. The rider from New Zealand finished 12th overall, in the chase group behind winner Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands). Her nearest rival, Pfeiffer Georgie (Great Britain), was 16th and then it was next Ricarda Bauernfeind (Germany), who when she crossed the line in 20th place had not realised she had made it onto the U23 podium.
The addition of the title was roundly welcomed when it was announced last year, the format however was not, with Fisher-Black among those critical of creating a race within a race.
“I stand by what I said, but I think with women’s cycling we are seeing so much development in the sport itself and I think this is a step forward and we have to accept that that’s a step forward,” said Black. “And…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…