THE PERIOD WE SHOULD NEVER SKIP: “THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN PERFORMANCE”

April 23 ^rd 2026 - 11:00 [GMT + 2]

Key points:

• Amenorrhea is one of the many issues that a female athlete can face when her focus on performance is too intense. Good guidance is key to avoid this and other problems related to eating disorders.
• Current world champion Magdeleine Vallières is one of the many riders who have spoken out about this issue, and claims that getting her period back was instrumental to step up on a sporting level.
• A sport scientist and professional rider, Clara Koppenburg is now an advocate for this conversation to take place and keep young cyclists from falling into a vicious cycle that can hamper their long-term health.

Sport science has historically been focused on men. Female athletes were more unseen than actively disregarded, as their achievements and struggles were hardly noticed and their careers were short and precarious by default. The fact that their public voices were kept low in a public conversation dominated by men didn’t help, either. Many of their issues were taboos to be kept under wraps. Luckily, their increased representation in society and the development of women’s sport are now countering this phenomenon to the point where for a woman to speak about her intimate health is relevant and even welcome.

Clara Koppenburg (1995, Lörrach - Germany) raised her hand right after last year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, as its winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, was receiving undue criticism because of how skinny she was and, all of a sudden, the weight of professional athletes became a topic of discussion. Koppenburg had many reasons to speak up. A sport scientist herself, she had studied the prevalence of eating disorders in the women’s peloton and focused her thesis on this issue. She took to Instagram and published a heartfelt, illuminating post on how she had to deal with an eating disorder herself for years. “I was surprised by how many girls reached out to me and told me that they were in the same situation, or experiencing similar issues,” she says, nine months after putting herself forward. “I felt I wasn’t alone anymore.”

Eating disorders were a taboo back when Koppenburg started racing as a pro. “Nobody would ever talk about them, but they were always there. The environment in cycling was really different to what it is now. We were often told to train the body to function with little to no calorie intake, so we would get an advantage when racing with food in our systems.” Sport scientists in general and nutritionists in particular were hard to come by in the women’s peloton in those days. “I just followed what somebody told me. Then I noticed that, once I lost some weight, my performance increased. From then on, the negative spiral began.”

Like many athletes, the German rider found herself in a vicious cycle that ended up creating an eating disorder in her. “I looked at myself in the mirror and I could see every single vein on my body. In my mind, that was exactly what a Tour de France winner was supposed to look like. I was always chasing that ideal weight, that number in my head.” In her worst moments, she was down to 42 kg while being 170 cm tall. “You are fighting with this inner voice, but you also know that your whole family and friends are scared about you. You’re constantly stressed and start doing irrational things. If there's a family dinner, you put some breadcrumbs on a clean plate to pretend that you have already eaten.”

Koppenburg experienced many of the problems that signal a severe eating disorder, like missing her period. “When I first lost it, I felt happy thinking I was a real athlete who was really lean after training so much. I believed I had achieved something. I would hear girls complaining they got their period and this would affect their performance, and I would feel lucky I didn’t have it.” Then she realized this was not good news. “In the back of my mind, I knew it was a problem I had to solve because, if I kept going, I might never get my period back and could jeopardize my plans to have a family.”

In 2024, the German rider set out to overcome her eating disorder - once and for all. “We only live once, and cycling should be a wonderful thing we can enjoy,” she muses. “The recovery process from an eating disorder is hard. It just takes so much time and you really need to be honest with yourself if you want to change something. There are days on which you will feel completely shit in your own skin.” Koppenburg describes how, when gaining weight and slowly reclaiming her full health, she would feel ‘punished’ every time her performance on the bike was not on par with her earlier self. “Cycling was the thing I loved the most, and it became so difficult and so hard. But then my life became so much nicer. I felt so much happier, even if my performance was worse. Performance is not all there is in life.”

The pathway out of her eating disorder culminated when her amenorrhea ended and she got her period back. “I was really overwhelmed and scared at first. There were voices in my head telling me I had lost control of my weight and my body - that I wasn’t an athlete anymore. Pretty soon I realized I had actually achieved something way bigger than any sporting result. This was a great step towards a healthier life in the future. Every four weeks I remember this is a sign that I am on the right track.” Nowadays, Koppenburg races for Tudor Pro Cycling in the gravel scene, after eleven years as a road cyclist during which she rode nine Grand Tours, including La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es (39th).

Another telling example of how important it is for riders to strike a good balance between health and performance is Magdeleine Vallières. Having started her career with little guidance back in Canada, she quickly began chasing her minimum possible weight and lost her period as a result. Last year, she worked with the sport scientists at EF Education-Oatly to regain her health. She menstruated again right before the Tour de France Femmes, which she finished 18th overall. Two months later, she won the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda). “My story proves that full health is the best way to perform,” she claimed in an interview with L’Équipe.

“It hurts me to see girls struggling with their weight,” regrets Koppenburg. “If a young athlete wants to avoid eating disorders, she ought to work with good nutritionists right from the start. And, if they are already dealing with this issue, they must sit down and be honest with themselves, talk to people they trust and get help from them. Losing your period is quite a big sign that your body is not in balance, and bone density too - which is why we should perform DEXA scans regularly, at least once a year. Regular blood tests also help track hormone levels.” This would prevent them from enduring a taxing condition that can damage their physical health in the long run - and their mental health too, as eating disorders create issues when dealing with loved ones and openness about this can sometimes lead to ostracism. “This is a really important message I want to share with other girls and with their teams,” stresses Koppenburg. “In situations like these, we need to be understanding and give a helping hand to those who are suffering.” We must never forget this.