At the start of the year Niamh Fisher-Black made the shift to Lidl-Trek with a view to opening up a 'clean slate' so she could see what potential was there to develop into a team leader. Now the rider from New Zealand is testing the waters on the biggest stage in women's cycling, the Tour de France Femmes.
It may not have been what was expected at the start of the year, with Gaia Realini the likely team pick to spearhead the GC charge but the Italian's year hasn't gone to plan due to a crash and illness. In contrast, Fisher-Black's season has followed an impressive path of improvement.
The top 10 results flowed at races like Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and La Flèche Wallonne while in the stage racing Fisher-Black snared sixth overall at Vuelta Femenina and then fourth at Tour de Suisse Women.
"It's sort of something that's been shaped over the year," Fisher Black told Cyclingnews outside the Lidl-Trek team bus.
"So it's worked out that I've stepped into the leadership role a lot, but it's really nice that the team is sort of trying to keep as much pressure off my shoulders and let me grow into it a little bit, because it's some big shoes to fill to become a leader.
"I know I'm still I'm not there yet, and I hope my teammates have the patience with me that I'm still learning to be that for them."
Lidl-Trek is going through a transformation after the departure of Elisa Longo Borghini to UAE Team ADQ and the announcements of the retirement of two other pivotal team members, Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk. T
The team is looking to fast track the development of riders like Fisher Black to fill the void. That, however, is not an instant process.
"It's not easy to do it right as a leader, so she also has to learn to do it, but there is a process," Lidl-Trek sports director Jereon Blijlevens told Cyclingnews.
The results so far this season indicate considerable progress along the path in that process, as does the fact that the team are backing Fisher Black at the Tour de France Femmes.
Fisher-Black is keen to push the accelerator down a little harder still.
"I think for myself, sometimes I wish it could be more," said Fisher Black.
"You know, I really still taste that top result or the win, and I also want to give that back to the team because they have given so much to me so far.
"But yes, also I look at it more realistically, and as I look over the season so far I think it's been really consistent and slowly better and better. So I'm still having positive feelings and quite happy with where it's at, as long as it keeps going upwards."
Fisher-Black lost 1:06 to the race leader and stage winner Kim Le Court on stage 5, pushing her five spots down the GC ranks to 14th with a gap of 1:41 to yellow.
The hope is that Fisher-Black will move back up the GC in the key mountain stages.
"She still can do a good GC because real mountains are different than short, short climbs," said Blijlevens after stage 5.
The mountain stages kick into gear from stage 6, with the biggest test the Col de Madeleine on the penultimate day of racing on stage 8.
"I've ridden Col de Madeleine and yeah, I'm not sure if that's a good thing because it's a very hard climb," Fisher-Black said with a chuckle. "I know what's coming now."
"I'm looking forward to it, but it's out of my comfort zone, but it's out of everyone's comfort zone."
Perhaps, much like first stepping into the role of a GC leader is out of everyone's comfort zone.
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