Niamh Fisher-Black has fallen some way down the GC ranks through the opening seven stages, but there was a big prize still on offer, the queen stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
It was the stage that put a spark in the eye and grin on the face when we spoke to Fisher-Black earlier in the race, with reason. This was a day for the serious climbers.
“We hoped to be a little bit on the offensive and try something for the last climb, but it actually ended up happening a lot earlier than I expected, anyway,” said Fisher-Black. Riejanne [Markus] was off the road, and I saw an opportunity to jump to her on the first climb. So I did. Then we had a really good group, and it was really perfect scenario.”
The rider from New Zealand who moved to Lidl-Trek from SD Worx-Protime at the start of this season was part of a group of around 15 riders that included Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Magdeleine Vallieres Mill (EF Education-Oatly), as well as Fisher-Black’s teammate Markus.
The group ebbed and flowed through the 111.9km stage, which started in Chambéry and finished in Saint-François-Longchamp atop the hors catégorie-ranked Col de Madeleine (18.6km at 8.1%). Ultimately, though, it was Fisher-Black who launched from the break.
"They let us go with the big time gap, and Riejanne could do most of the work for me, which was really nice," said Fisher-Black. "And then it was my job to try something on the Madeleine, and yeah, maybe I left it a bit far into the climb, but then, then I went my pace and I just tried to pace it as best as I could."
There was a charged GC battle on behind, with Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) launching and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) then stamping her authority on the stage and race.
"Ferrand-Prévot came from behind, pretty strong, so, yeah, I did what I could, but we went for a statement today, and I'm happy with how we tried," concluded Fisher-Black.
Trying got her onto the podium, with both Ferrand-Prévot and Gigante catching the rider from New Zealand, but no one else, with Fisher-Black holding off a charging Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) with a gap of 48 seconds.
Fisher-Black's efforts not only put her on the podium but also moved her up five spots in the overall, to eighth.
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