Niamh Fisher-Black is one of the young talented riders who plays for Team SD Worx-Protime. The New Zealand rider continues to develop every year and last season she took an important step: her first WorldTour victory. In the Tour de Suisse, she beat Kasia Niewiadoma in the sprint after a duo escape. "I had some nerves there anyway," Fisher-Black looks back. "I knew I had a unique chance to win by myself for once. I came into that situation a bit unexpectedly. I had jumped with Niewiadoma from a defensive role to protect Marlen Reusser’s classification. I got everything in my earpiece and could hear that Marlen would normally win the classification. My breakaway with Kasia also looked set to be successful, so I did feel the pressure to finish. The fact that I succeeded and beat a strong rider like Niewiadoma gave me a lot of joy. Winning races is what you live for as a rider. I hope to taste that feeling more often in 2024.”

Sports manager, Danny Stam, sees that Fisher-Black is driven to get better. "The fact that Niamh was in a position to win last season and also finished it made us proud. Even though she experienced a tougher year. We had hoped she would make a big step this season as a classification rider, but that has been somewhat lacking. She thinks so herself and she is very strict with herself. That's good, but she also needs to see her own strengths. Niamh is a rider who always shows something. And she will be very quick to take responsibility and think of the team. She always wants to do what is right for the team. That drive sometimes inhibits her in her personal results. Niamh can ride a classification if she finds a course to her size. In 2024, I hope she continues to develop herself in the shadow of the top riders."

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