Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has once again had the perfect start to the Santos Tour Down Under with Sam Welsford hitting the season opener in stellar sprint form as he did last year. On stage 3, the team gaze shifts as the days to suit the climbers begin, which puts new recruit Finn Fisher-Black in the spotlight.
The rider from New Zealand is racing his third Tour Down Under, however, for the last two years he was with UAE Team Emirates – a squad that rarely have any shortage of GC options. With a new team in 2025 and a new dynamic, it's a fresh start for the 23-year-old Fisher-Black and one he is determined to make the most of.
“It's massive for me,” Fisher-Black told Cyclingnews when asked about how much of a target the Tour Down Under was. “This race is always one of my favourite races of the year, and I always seem to feel quite good after the summer in New Zealand.
“Also being the first race with the new team it was a really big focus for me, this first block of racing – so this race, the national championships and the UAE Tour – the preparations went pretty well. I'm here as, or better than, I wanted to be so I'm ready to race.”
Stage 3 is where it all really begins for the overall contenders, with two ascents of a new climb - the category 1 Knotts Hill, 2.6km long with an average gradient of 8% and peak of 13.4% - building the suspense.
“I'd never seen it before, but I've ridden that few times already this past week being here. And it's definitely a tough one. The run-in is pretty technical but also just the whole day leading up to it,” said Fisher-Black on the eve of the stage. “We do two laps of that Knotts Hill and the run-in looks really technical, so it's definitely going to be about positioning going into there. Then you are also going to need the numbers on the climb.”
The initial ascent of crests with 40.8km to go in the 147.5km stage and the second at just 5.6km from the line.
“Coming in, I was still thinking Willunga was the main stage, but after reconning the third stage, I think it might be the most important,” added Fisher-Black.
After stage 3, the GC is expected to be reshuffled as the race heads toward Victor Harbor on stage 4, where there might also be a chance to create gaps, based on the experience of the race in 2023. Then the final GC showdown is expected to be on stage 5 on Willunga Hill before the race concludes with another day for the sprinters in Adelaide on stage 6.
The constant refrain among riders and teams is that this is one of the tougher, if not the toughest, editions of the season starting race.
“There's not any difference in the big climbs, still Willunga is the biggest climb, but just every stage is harder,” said Fisher-Black. “Even [stage 1] was a nailed-on sprint stage, but it was quite lumpy to get to the finish and quite a technical course anyway.
“So I think every day you really have to be switched on. There's no time to really lose focus. So I think it's, in general, a harder tour than last year.”
All the better for the climbers like Fisher-Black.
