There is no doubt that Lidl-Trek are once again one of the key teams to watch at the Women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, as they hunt for that first victory at the one-day Women's WorldTour race with a packed hand with an exciting new card added into the mix in 2025, Niamh Fisher-Black.
The rider from New Zealand hasn’t yet raced the event, the closest thing she has to a home one-day WorldTour event, largely because she has spent the past four years with SD Worx – a team that doesn’t venture out to the Australian WorldTour openers in January.
Fisher-Black's shift to Lidl-Trek has opened the door to the Australian summer racing and the rider is now looking forward to her first opportunity to take on the 142.4km event which sweeps out from Geelong via the coast and into rolling countryside before tackling the short but steep climb of Challambra Crescent twice in the Geelong finishing circuit.
“I've only ever watched on TV, but I’ve seen the way it's raced – it's steep and punchy hills, which normally I really like and it should suit me,” Fisher-Black told Cyclingnews in Adelaide last week after racing the Santos Tour Down Under.
It’s the type of terrain where she has certainly delivered plenty of evidence of her prowess, from Giro d’Italia stage podiums to a Tour de Suisse stage win and the very first U23 women’s world road title in Wollongong in 2023.
Fisher-Black is coming into the event from a Tour Down Under which didn’t necessarily deliver on all the teams hopes but certainly wasn't a period of racing without some shows of strength – Fisher-Black finishing 12th overall while Amanda Spratt was seventh.
“For sure, I missed some race legs this time of year, but now I have the [Tour Down Under] in the bank,” said Fisher-Black who has also since then added Sunday's 1.Pro ranked Schwalbe Women’s One Day Classic and Wednesday's 1.1 ranked Surf Coast Classic.
“We can see if we can open something up but I think it's also a hugely tactical race, and I have a nice team behind me.”
Fisher-Black will be racing alongside experienced hands at the event like Lauretta Hanson and Spratt, who is not only a fount of knowledge but also an alternate card. The 37 year old who won the race in 2016 – while racing with the Australian team now called Liv-AlUla-Jayco – has also been on the podium in her last three starts plus has put clear evidence of her form on display at the Tour Down Under. Add to that the team have also received a boost from the in-form Clara Copponi's sprint victory at the Schwalbe Women’s One Day Classic.
That means while the women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race often throws up unpredictable outcomes – with last year’s surprise winner being Rosita Reijnhout (Visma-Lease a Bike) – given that there is terrain that suits, a powerful team and more race legs in the day Fisher-Black heads toward the race with every reason to hope.
“I'm excited for it, optimistic as well,” concluded Fisher-Black.
Keep watching Cyclingnews for more from the interview in Adelaide with Fisher-Black, with a feature coming soon.
