"I have a kick that not many others have" - Finn Fisher-Black hopes to regain wings at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe

Ever wondered what do the three biggest cycling teams have in common? The 23-year-old Finn Fisher-Black. Despite his young age, the rider from New Zealand will race for already third superteam in his career. From that, it should be clear the young rider must have a fair amount of talent loaded in his legs. However he himself feels like several victories at .1 and .Pro level are not the ceiling of his abilities. That's why he aims through the roof in the new colours.

"It’s a nice change, I’m excited to be part of such a new project," begins Fisher-Black in an interview for In de Leiderstrui. The Kiwi rider came a long way from when he joined a Dutch club Willebrord Wil Vooruit in 2019 as a 17-year-old talent.

Read also

Tour de France and Tour of Britain for Geraint Thomas' final season as a pro, but no Paris-Roubaix: "The classics are just too crazy for me now"

Fisher-Black could not have predicted that he would end up in a team that would attract one superstar after another in the years that followed. "I was still young when I went from Visma to UAE. UAE was a completely different team then, not a super team like last season, I have never seen a team so dominant," he says honestly. "That was crazy and great to be part of. But four years ago I could not have predicted that it would turn out like this."

Although Fisher-Black developed well and also started winning from 2023, his ambitions did not fully materialize. Stage wins in the Tour of Sicily, Tour of Oman and Tour of Asturias and victory in the Muscat Classic, that was it. "I don't regret anything, UAE Team Emirates took me in, even in bad times. They gave me a home to learn and grow and now I have to change places to move on."

Read also

ANALYSIS: The one statistic that explains why Primoz Roglic’s Giro-Tour double could be a success

The still young climber refers to a broken thigh bone in the Boucles de la Mayenne in May 2022 with 'bad times'. That did not help his position within a super team, where Fisher-Black never really found his place. Example: he only rode one Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España in 2023. "They were 2.5 great years with UAE, they flew by. But I wanted to leave, to get more out of myself."

"There are a couple of reasons for that," Fisher-Black begins his explanation. "Mainly because I was in a situation at UAE where I was no longer growing. There is so much talent around, which to some extent is great to be a part of. But to find myself again, I had to do something different. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe showed a lot of confidence in me straight away, so that appealed to me."

He believes that classics such as Ardennes could put him under spotlight: "I have a kick that not many others have. If I keep working on that, it could be a decisive factor in winning more races. There are a lot of races for guys like me, like the Ardennes or certain stages in the Grand Tours. I think we know now that I'm not a GC rider, that's not my style. A Marc Hirschi type? Yeah, exactly. He's definitely someone I have a lot in common with as a rider."

Read also

COLUMN: The yellow jersey, a monument win, and grand tour stage wins: What is on the world's best cyclists Christmas wish lists?

OPINION: 5 early cycling predictions that could shake up the peloton in 2025

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate cycling experience—subscribe today for access to the latest cycling news

Subscribe