The sun is shining on a winter’s day in Calpe and April Tacey looks much like any other cyclist on a training camp in her Lycra team-issue kit, modern POC helmet, and sleek shades. She looks every inch the rider that in six months will be outsprinting powerhouses like Chloé Dygert and Lauren Stephens. But today her weapon of choice is a Brompton – and it’s the first time she’s sat on a bike in months.
On a training camp in Calpe just before Christmas, Tacey had ridden into a ditch and bashed her knee on a rock. “Straight away I looked at my knee, my knee is gone. It was indented and I knew I’d done something really bad because it was bent as well and I couldn’t straighten it.
“I was just sat there in a ditch thinking, ‘What have you done, April?’ I was just fuming at myself and I was so upset and angry and all the emotions were coming up. I thought, ‘Well, this is going to take a while to fix. My first season actually getting a chance to do the UCI races and I’ve messed it up.’”
Racing back
She’d end up having surgery in Spain to put the three pieces of her patella back together and flew back just in time to spend Christmas with her cycling-mad family.
But fate is an odd thing and, although she missed the early season, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to her missing out on the rest and come July she was fighting fit. At the Virtual Tour de France, she won the first stage and claimed the digital Maillot Jaune. Then, as if to prove it wasn’t a fluke, won the fourth stage too.
This story is from the August 06, 2020 edition of CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 06, 2020 edition of CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Giant TCR Composite Gold
If this bike looks opulent, over the top and über-bling now, imagine the reaction of the bike-buying public 22 years ago when it was unveiled as a special limited edition made with real gold plate and costing the unthinkable sum of $10,000.
WATT WORKS FOR ME Kasia Niewiadoma
The Tour of Flanders runner-up talks lost bikes, altitude training and strength workouts
BREWING A BOOST
Coffee and cycling may be inextricably linked, but does the black stuff really improve our performance on the bike? Lexie Williamson investigates
Soto Helix Coffee Maker - £21.95
I really love the minimalism of this coffee brewer. It's a pour over stripped to its bare essentials: a conical spring that can hold a paper filter, and then compresses nearly flat when not in use.
Stanley Classic Perfect-Brew Pour Over
The Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over is the second simplest coffee maker on test, beaten only by the incredibly minimalist Soto Helix.
GSI Mini Espresso Set 1 Cup - £51.50
Starting off with the coffee makers that require a heat source, we have the GSI Outdoors Mini Espresso Set 1 Cup.
How do I up my coffee game?
How does the average Joe make the perfect mug of Joe? We sent Joe Baker to find out
THE HUB
All the news you might have missed from the last seven days
GOING FULL BEANS
Most cyclists enjoy a decent coffee, but some take it a step further. CW meets five self-declared obsessives who have pushed their twin passions, bikes and beans, to the nth degree
A love affair
Coffee connoisseur Adam Becket delves into the storied yet mysterious relationship between cycling and the original energy drink