“I’m trying not to think about how many times I’ve been second this year”: Fisher-Black’s string of runner-up finishes continues despite another strong display

Finn Fisher-Black’s impressive consistency this season continued at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but the New Zealander was once again left without a victory. The Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe rider finished second to Quinn Simmons on stage 4 after being part of a ten-man breakaway that narrowly resisted the peloton’s chase. The result added another podium finish to a season filled with strong performances, while also extending a series of near misses that has become a recurring theme of his campaign.

Fisher-Black has been one of the most reliable performers of the year, but his only victory remains the individual time trial at the New Zealand National Championships in February. Since then, he has repeatedly come close to adding more wins, including second place behind Matthew Brennan on the final stage of the Tour Down Under, second behind Dorian Godon at stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie, and third behind Tadej Pogacar and Godon during stage 2.

During stage 4 of Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fisher-Black had an excellent opportunity to secure his second victory of the season and his first ever in a WorldTour race, as the breakaway made it to the finish line ahead of the peloton. However, he was outsprinted by American Quinn Simmons.

“I’m trying not to think about how many times I’ve been second this year, it hurts a bit,” Fisher-Black said after the finish in words gathered by Domestique. “One day, maybe.”

Stage 4 had been widely viewed as a contest between a successful breakaway and a reduced bunch sprint. Fisher-Black admitted that he was undecided before the start about whether to attack or wait for a sprint opportunity.

“We were jumping for two hours so it was really hard to get in the breakaway in the first place,” he said. “I was even keen for a bunch sprint today, but I knew my chances were better from a break so that was the idea. It was just a hard day, we were going full the whole day, we knew we couldn’t mess about, there just wasn’t enough time.”

The escape group never gained more than two minutes over the peloton, but the quality of riders such as Fisher-Black, Simmons and George Bennett helped ensure it remained clear to the finish. The peloton, led home by Wout van Aert, finished only four seconds behind after an intense pursuit.

Fisher-Black felt the demanding nature of the stage should have favoured him in the sprint. “That was actually good for me, because I wanted to sprint,” he explained. “But when it came to the sprint, it was pretty hard to make my way through the gaps and I just couldn’t come around Quinn in the end.”

Despite another narrow defeat, the performance provided further evidence of the form that has made Fisher-Black one of the most competitive riders of the season, even if a second victory continues to elude him.