Fisher-Black ends up fifth in the GC: "A few pedal strokes separated me from Pauline"

“It was fast from the start,” Fisher-Black said, looking back on the final stage with IDLProCycling.com, among others. “Early on, it was just the women in the GC. I had to stay on the pedals all day, but to be honest, I like races like this. And I felt good, even though it was tough.”

This allowed the 24-year-old rider to stay with the women competing for the overall victory, such as Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM). “In the final, I knew it was going to be tough.” Behind these four top riders in women's cycling, Fisher-Black finished fourth.

Yet on the final climb, she looked like the second-best rider in the race. Ferrand-Prévot made her decisive attack there and rode solo to the stage win. “To be honest, I was a few pedal strokes away from being able to follow Pauline. But she was too strong,” Fisher-Black concluded after the race. While the woman in the yellow jersey attacked from behind before the corner, Fisher-Black had to react from the front. After the corner, she closed to within a few meters of the Visma | Lease a Bike rider, but after Ferrand-Prévot pushed hard one last time, Fisher-Black broke away.

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Fisher-Black then battled for the remaining podium places, which went to Vollering (second) and Niewiadoma (third). “It was a good day because I was able to move up to fifth place in the GC.” And the rider hadn't expected that. “No, definitely not. Before the start of this race, I had high ambitions, not necessarily for the GC, but to see what I could do.”

Fisher-Black's ambitions remained unchanged during the Tour de France Femmes, which made a top 5 place in the GC a surprise. “I just had some unlucky moments and maybe not the best legs for a few days, so actually a few days ago I didn't think I would finish fifth in the GC today.”