The Kiwi rider for Lidl-Trek has long been touted as a future GC contender, but hasn’t been able to put the pieces together. Now, ahead of the Tour, she’s ready to try again.
Gruber Images, Cor Vos
When it comes to cycling, there are leaders, and there are leaders. The first category: those riders who score results based on brute strength, but when it comes to commanding a team and garnering respect from the teammates sacrificing their own results for someone else, they fall short. The second: those who have to work hard beyond just the physical attributes that make a winner, those who are constantly striving to better their team by example.
Most of the time, the latter are riders who start out in support roles. Riders who have to earn the right to lead. That is the case for Niamh Fisher-Black, who started as a domestique for SD Worx-Protime before joining Lidl-Trek in 2025 with the intent of being one of the team’s key leaders for races like the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
From shadows to spotlight: Niamh Fisher-Black’s ascent continues with Lidl-Trek
In 2025, the Kiwi climber has both a clean slate, and a mountain of experience to draw upon.
Leading doesn’t come naturally to the 25-year-old; it’s something she has had to work on, but it’s also something she feels capable of taking on.
“Obviously, when I made the move [to Lidl-Trek] last year, I started to feel [like I needed to make a step up],” Fisher-Black told the Wheel Talk Podcast while at a pre-Tour altitude camp in July. “I knew I needed to make that step to take some more responsibility because I would go to the races and they’d [say I could be a leader], and I think that it’s one thing telling a rider that they can be a leader, but the rider has to step into that role.”
“In the last year, I can maybe look back and say I did a really good job, but maybe I’ve still got a lot more to grow to really fill that role for my own side and also for the whole team.”
Learning to lead
Fisher-Black has been a staple of the peloton since 2021, when she first joined SD Worx-Protime at the age of 20, but for years all she had to do was ride for others. In her new role at her new team, she’s had to adapt to new expectations, but it’s something she’s taken in stride.
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