SD Worx stamped its authority on the women’s peloton this afternoon as Niamh Fisher-Black won the final stage of the Tour de Suisse and her team-mate Marlen Reusser clung on to take GC victory.
Fisher-Black was celebrating her maiden WorldTour victory after winning a two-up sprint against Canyon-SRAM leader Kasia Niewiadoma.
The New Zealander becomes the ninth different rider on the SD Worx team to win a race this season, a season which it has dominated.
The Netherlands-registered squad had a historic run of 20 wins come to an end yesterday when Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) won stage three of the Tour de Suisse.
Fisher-Black is in her third year in the top flight of the sport. Noted for her climbing ability she often finds herself playing a support role to the galacticos on SD Worx’s stacked roster. Today was her first win since the 2020 New Zealand national championships.
She had been the first to respond when Australian champion Brodie Chapman (Trek-Segafredo) attacked with 49km left to race. Niewiadoma made it across to her and her team-mate Tiffany Cromwell, who had been part of the day’s break, proceeded to work to pull the trio clear of the peloton.
After Cromwell left the pair to continue chasing the remains of the day’s break, Fisher-Black left Niewiadoma, who started the day 2.07 off Reusser’s GC lead, to do most of the work.
With 45km left to race further attacks in the peloton began to splinter the group and left Reusser with just one team-mate in Demi Vollering. Then with 24km to go Vollering attacked over the top of one of the race’s many punchy climbs as Niewiadoma reached a lead that would have been enough to put her into the GC lead.
The Swiss, however, used her prodigious power to begin to reel in the Polish rider. At the finish she was just 36 seconds back from Niewiadoma, smiling as she was told of her team-mate's stage victory.
It was the first time Reusser has celebrated victory in her home stage race.
Speaking at the finish she said: “I’m so happy that was such a big goal of mine I was dreaming for that and the team supported this 100% and did everything to make this happened. It’s a dream come true.”
Aksed about her decision to go solo with 24km to race she said: “It was not a good situation because Kasia was riding full gas in the front and Trek weren’t helping. It was just Demi and me left and Demi was riding on the front and not getting any help, so I thought it was best to go on the offensive. I was really happy with that situation.”
Normal service has been resumed.
