{"id":255715,"date":"2026-08-01T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/01\/with-the-parcours-i-want-to-race-more-to-my-strengths-niamh-fisher-black-adjusts-expectations-for-tour-de-france-femmes\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:30:00","slug":"with-the-parcours-i-want-to-race-more-to-my-strengths-niamh-fisher-black-adjusts-expectations-for-tour-de-france-femmes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/01\/with-the-parcours-i-want-to-race-more-to-my-strengths-niamh-fisher-black-adjusts-expectations-for-tour-de-france-femmes\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;With the parcours, I want to race more to my strengths&#8217; \u2013 Niamh Fisher-Black adjusts expectations for Tour de France Femmes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-df21b5fa-8daf-11f1-a817-77d55818af76\">A year on from finishing fifth overall to add to her haul of Grand Tour top-10s, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/niamh-fisher-black\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/niamh-fisher-black\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/niamh-fisher-black\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Niamh Fisher-Black<\/a> (Lidl-Trek) is expecting, or even hoping, to replicate that <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tag\/performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">performance<\/a> at this year&#8217;s <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France Femmes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the New Zealand rider has been forced to adjust and temper her ambitions going into this year&#8217;s edition, with the course &#8220;taking away from the general classification&#8221; for a rider of Fisher-Black&#8217;s abilities.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-df21b5fa-8daf-11f1-a817-77d55818af76-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">A lightweight climber, Fisher-Black has excelled in climb-heavy Grand Tours before, with top-10s in the Giro d&#8217;Italia Women, Vuelta Femenina and Tour in the last two years. But whilst <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026\/map\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026\/map\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/races\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026\/map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this year&#8217;s Tour route is headlined by Mont Ventoux,<\/a> there are plenty of hilly, punchy stages too, and a time trial that looks to be Fisher-Black&#8217;s biggest hurdle to a solid GC assault.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<p><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand\">Cyclingnews<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think I go into this race with maybe slightly different goals from previous stage races,&#8221; she explained to <em>Cyclingnews <\/em>on Friday.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Just the way the parcours is, I want to race a little bit more to my strengths, and that&#8217;s maybe taken away from the general clarification a little bit. And I think with the team we have here, it&#8217;s about searching [for a stage win] as well. So we&#8217;re optimistic about the week ahead, but I hope to maybe approach it a little bit differently.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s mainly just the time trial. It&#8217;s not a strength of mine and I know that.&#8221; she answered when asked where the specific challenges lay for her, though she was realistic that the race won&#8217;t only be won or lost on that day.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The thing is with the parcours that we have in the Tour de France this year, the time is probably not going to be made on the time trial day; it will be in the last few days. So I am still looking. It&#8217;s a very open race and a lot can happen, so we&#8217;re pretty optimistic about it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-aTuXkrc7oFU3WKrtzmvxhh\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-aTuXkrc7oFU3WKrtzmvxhh slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Even if the course is not ideal, Fisher-Black has proven that her GC potential is very much still there this year, riding to fifth overall in the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/giro-d-italia-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Giro d&#8217;Italia Women<\/a> despite not having her best week, and going on the attack on the final stage.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;In the end, it finished nicely, but it was honestly not my best week on the bike,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;I was struggling with some issues, so I have taken quite a bit of time now to work on it, and hopefully we can come back this week a bit better. It&#8217;s been a long period, but it&#8217;s nice to sort of reset and build back up again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The positive thing may be that instead of Lidl-Trek pinning their main hopes on a GC campaign for Fisher-Black, they&#8217;re coming to this race with a strong line-up of stage-hunters, including Lucinda Brand and Elisa Balsamo, plus future GC contender Isabella Holmgren.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">To win a stage would likely be more rewarding than a 5th to 10th finish on GC.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;A stage win [at this race] still evades us as a team and also myself, so for sure that&#8217;s a big goal,&#8221; Fisher-Black said. &#8220;I would definitely be happy coming out of the week with that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-df21b71c-8daf-11f1-941b-b19d3545dfa2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women&#8217;s cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women&#8217;s peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! <\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><em><strong>Join today.<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a><em\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/with-the-parcours-i-want-to-race-more-to-my-strengths-niamh-fisher-black-adjusts-expectations-for-tour-de-france-femmes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A year on from finishing fifth overall to add to her haul of Grand Tour top-10s, Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) is expecting, or even hoping, to replicate that performance at this year&#8217;s Tour de France Femmes. In fact, the New Zealand rider has been forced to adjust and temper her ambitions going into this year&#8217;s edition, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-255715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}