Finn Fisher-Black may have been somewhat of a surprise package on the opening stage of the UAE Tour as he sprinted to second on the gruelling uphill finish toward Liwa Palace, however, he revealed his form is "probably the best it's ever been."
The New Zealand rider actually crossed the line third on the day behind Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen, with the latter getting relegated for deviating from his line. However, speaking before the Belgian's penalty was confirmed, he was unsure whether this actually prevented him from taking victory.
"In the final, it was a bit annoying, I had nowhere to go really," Fisher-Black told Cyclingnews at the team van post-stage.
"I was kind of stuck between Jasper [Philipsen] and Milan but I guess I don't know sprinting so well so maybe an experienced sprinter would have known what to do there. But it just felt like I had nowhere to go even though maybe I had the legs to come around."
Having transferred from UAE Team Emirates over to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for this season, Fisher-Black has enjoyed a flying start to 2025, adding this solid performance to his third place at the Tour Down Under and the New Zealand national time trial title.
But even still, he wouldn't have been a contender heading into the start of the day to those looking from the outside in. However, Fisher-Black himself knew there was a chance the sprinters didn't all make it, opening the door for one of the punchy riders to challenge.
People may have seen Tadej Pogačar as that wildcard among the GC hopefuls but it was the Kiwi who got it right, only losing to the imperious sprinter Milan.
"Everyone was saying it was like a nailed-on sprint day but I knew already looking at the profile in the morning that it was one of those days that could go either way," Fisher-Black said.
"You can kind of almost take advantage when everyone is so sure it will be sprint day so I just kept it in the back of my mind if it is maybe ten seconds too long for the sprinters, then it's better for me and actually then I can have a chance. I know I have this strong one-minute kick.
"Sam [Welsford] was the main goal for today and the team was obviously dedicated to him. He's our sprinter and it was a bunch kick so I thought I just tried to surf, stay on Sam's wheel and when it was just that ten seconds too long for him then I came around and tried for a result myself."
The 23-year-old is certainly brave in the bunch and backed his ability to move up through the wheels on his own, however, the peloton in the UAE contains almost 100% of the top sprinters and their aggressive trains, so it's certainly a fight to stay involved as a GC guy.
"The bunch here is pretty aggressive I think, because everyone has a lead-out," he said. "There are so many sprinters and everyone is trying to make the most of each sprint opportunity that there is. A lot of them it's their first race so everyone is keen to have a sprint and that makes it quite dangerous in the final.
"But we have big roads and I'm confident in our lead-out that they'll be in a good position so if I just stick with them then I feel safe. In the end, I was near enough coming into the last roundabout and then I was also quite comfortable moving around by myself so I just tried to find the right wheel and I found Philipsen's and tried to go with him but in the end, it wasn't enough."
With second on the opening stage, though, this also means he is sat third overall going into two consecutive GC days, with the stage 2 time trial and stage 3 summit finish to Jebel Jais. His shape is more than ready for those days,
"Overall my form is probably the best it's ever been which gives me confidence," Fisher-Black said to Cyclingnews. "Everything has kind of gone up, my threshhold has gone up and also I'm able to keep that kick so hopefully we can actually get a win out of it."
He'll of course put on the New Zealand colours on stage 2 with his eye on both keeping his current place and even gaining time on the more pure climbers at the race, who he should have a large advantage over during the race against the clock.
"It's a hard GC, especially because I'm one of the bigger GC riders on the heavy side compared to some of the other climbers here so I think for me, it's just about trying to take some time on the other guys tomorrow and then go from there," he said.
"But it's a hard week for me so I can't expect too much from myself. To say I'm going to get on the podium would be quite a long shot but it would be the dream and really nice. I'm going to need some legs to get up those last few climbs."
