Yasmine Tazi ’24, Co-Captain of the All-Gender Cycling team, aims to cultivate a tight-knit community of cyclists by acting as a supportive leader and holding herself to a high standard. Tazi, who began cycling competitively her lower year at Andover, praised the connection of adventuring and team-bonding found in the sport.
“[T]here’s an aspect related to the sport and an aspect related to the team. I think the sport in itself is very special. When you’re on a bike, you’re going on an adventure. You go, and you explore. It’s a whole sort of experience: you feel the wind, you go really fast, and it’s really cool. But, I think it’s also an aspect of the community because it’s such a small team and it’s co-ed[ucation]. You really have to trust [your teammates]… We’re always a very tight-knit team, and I think I’ve made very close friendships through it,” said Tazi.
Her teammate, Emily Wu ’25, noted Tazi’s efforts in overcoming a recent injury and praised her resilience. Despite her struggles, Tazi does everything she can to continue supporting the team as she works towards finding her way back onto the bike.
“I can actually think of an anecdote where she was injured for most of this year for some parts of fall during cross country season and during Winter Term. I know she faced a lot of challenges because of her injuries, and she is just getting back into the groove of the training load of cycling. Even if she is put in a rough place because of her injury, she’s doing everything that she can to get back onto her feet and compete. She has tried and is still trying everyday to get back in shape and be there for the team,” said Wu.
Despite the individuality of the sport, Tazi emphasized the importance of developing the cycling team as a source of support. During her captaincy, she has focused her efforts on building upon that camaraderie.
“There’s a part of this sport that’s more individual, that’s more linked to pushing your own boundaries, pushing yourself to your limits, giving it the best that you have, and that’s a very important skill to have in life in general. There’s also an aspect that is the fact that you’re not doing this alone, you’re with other people. You’re being a source of support and being supported by those people, and that’s a very special thing to have. I think that my work ethic is centered around team-building and fostering community,” said Tazi.
New cyclist Aaron Huang ’25 praised Tazi’s supportive qualities and the impact her work has on the team. He highlighted her attentiveness towards noticing individual details and helping set the tone
“She definitely is always there to support me. I do think a lot of the introductory work to the bike was done mostly by the coaches, but in the beginning workouts, she definitely was very supportive in those by motivating us with positive words. She also sometimes chooses the music for our indoor training sessions, or on our way to drive to races; that’s another way she expresses herself to the team,” said Huang.
Wu also highlighted Tazi’s efforts in ensuring that the cycling team stays both a tight-knit and is a person who embraces new and returning riders.
“There’s a saying that the captain is the heart of the team because we’re counting on them to set an example for how we behave towards or how we act in front of one another and just leading by example. Yasmine does a great job at that. What I love about having her as a captain is that she is one of the most welcoming people that I’ve met and she makes the team feel really tight-knit and close to each other. I’m really grateful that she essentially created it,” said Wu.
