'I stepped out of my comfort zone' - Niamh Fisher-Black on learning to lead

By her own admission, Niamh Fisher-Black took a little time to settle into the new way of doing things in 2025. In her four years at SD Worx, the New Zealander’s voice had been one of many in the chorus. At Lidl-Trek, by contrast, she was more often the leading light, and that required some adaptation.

“I didn’t come in as a natural leader. I’m generally quite a reserved person, I think,” Fisher-Black told reporters including Domestique at the recent Lidl-Trek training camp in Denia. 

“It has been about stepping a little bit out of my comfort zone, going into races with the team saying, ‘ok, we ride for Niamh today,’ and I have some super strong riders behind me. It’s also up to me to make sure that I’m fulfilling that position, but I’m proud of the step that I’ve taken this year.”

As the year progressed, Fisher-Black grew more comfortable in the role of outright leader, and it showed in her results. Sixth at the Vuelta a España Femenina was followed by fourth at the Tour de Suisse and an assured fifth at the Tour de France Femmes. There would also be a bittersweet silver medal at the Rwanda World Championships before the end of the campaign.

Three months on from that silver medal behind Magdeleine Vallieres, Fisher-Black still isn’t entirely sure of her feelings about the race. The immediate disappointment at missing out on the rainbow jersey hasn’t entirely dissipated, but there is pride, too, at her aggressive showing on the demanding Kigali circuit. 

“There is a sting of disappointment always when I think about it, but I guess I can also look back and think that was a nice position to be in,” Fisher-Black said. “Even though I was confident with my form, I probably didn’t expect that I would be in that position. I sort of raced like I had nothing to lose because I didn’t really think I had all the pieces in place to pull it off.”

Even so, Fisher-Black’s confidence in her own abilities grew across 2025. After years in the shadow of grandees like Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky, she was more often in the spotlight at Lidl-Trek, and she responded accordingly. The Tour de France, which began on the backfoot and ended with fine displays in the Alps, was something of a microcosm for her entire year.

“It took some time, for sure,” Fisher-Black said of adapting a leader’s mindset. “I started to feel it come and then you have a setback and you start to fall back into like the old ways. But I think that’s where the team really helped me. They sort of took me aside and said, ‘Let’s just look at what we can do better.’ And then from there I just kept sort of improving with that. 

“The Tour was a rocky week for us all, for the whole team, but it was really cool how in the last few days we turned it around. And I think that had a big impact on me, seeing what you can do if you just race.”

Fisher-Black arrived at a Lidl-Trek squad in the middle of a transition phase, and that change continues in 2026 following the retirement of Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk. Along with Elisa Balsamo, Fisher-Black will be the clear figurehead of the team this coming season. Her full programme is yet to be revealed, but it will feature another tilt at GC at the Tour.

“It’s really different from my last team, it’s a much bigger group and a bigger organisation,” Fisher-Black said. “Sometimes I felt like I didn’t think I deserved all the support that I get here. I think that’s been the biggest thing this year. In the beginning I put so much pressure on myself, because I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to give back to this team.’ But then I realised we’re all in it together, and it’s not helping anyone if I put that pressure on myself. But of course, I want to pay this team back at some point, because it’s amazing what they do for us.”

Earlier this year Niamh Fisher-Black also joined our Hotseat podcast 👇