{"id":178734,"date":"2020-07-24T08:36:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T08:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=178734"},"modified":"2020-07-24T08:38:20","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T08:38:20","slug":"a-conversation-with-april-tacey-team-drops-breakout-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2020\/07\/24\/a-conversation-with-april-tacey-team-drops-breakout-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with April Tacey \u2013 Team Drops Breakout Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the strange start to life as a pro cyclist that 2020 has offered, some new faces are rising to the occasion and making a name for themselves on the virtual stage that is currently at their disposal. One such budding talent? April Tacey. The 19-year-old British rider just pulled off an outstanding performance at the Virtual Tour de France, where she claimed four podium spots, two stage wins, and helped push her team, Drops<\/a>, closer to its goal of WorldTeam status.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming off what has been the biggest win of her very young career, We Love Cycling talked to April Tacey about what it was like going from starting her first pro season with an injury, to adjusting to life under the pandemic, to ultimately winning the first stage of the Virtual Tour de France<\/a>. She also told us about her hopes for the future of women\u2019s cycling, and the real-life race that she can\u2019t wait to try her hand at.<\/p>\n

\"April
April Tacey in her Drops jersey \u00a9 April Tacey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What a whirlwind the last couple weeks must have been! Can we go back in time a bit and talk about how you started cycling, April?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cycling has pretty much always been in my blood. I grew up in a cycling family, so it was a natural sport for me to take up. I did my first cyclo-cross race when I was 11. My chain actually snapped halfway through, hah, but I wasn\u2019t deterred! The following year I started road racing and the rest is basically history.<\/em><\/p>\n

They got you young!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, I was in love with it right from the beginning. I really enjoyed spending so much of my youth on a bike. I was always having fun, trying something new, and meeting interesting people. I\u2019m just really obsessed with racing.<\/em><\/p>\n

I can imagine! Do you have any cycling icons? Who did you look up to as an aspiring pro?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I rode different disciplines and really wanted to be a well-rounded cyclist, Marianne Vos was always such a clear role model. She\u2019s just an amazing athlete and performs so well in so many kinds of races. She\u2019s a smart tactician with skills in both climbing and time trialling. She\u2019s had such an impressive and solid career, and she just keeps going. I\u2019ve definitely always looked up to her.<\/p>\n

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Last stage of the women\u2019s virtual @LeTour<\/a>. What an amazing couple of weeks it\u2019s been with \ud83e\udd47\ud83e\udd47\ud83e\udd48\ud83e\udd49
If you\u2019d had told me that I\u2019d podium in all the races I wouldn\u2019t have believed you\ud83e\udd2fIt\u2019s been great to have some races on @GoZwift<\/a> but now I\u2019m so looking forward to the road season! pic.twitter.com\/nUbMGeAxXs<\/a><\/p>\n

— April Tacey (@april_tacey) July 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n