'I felt an obligation to be truthful and speak out' – Why Demi Vollering wants to keep periods and women's health in the spotlight in cycling

Demi Vollering is one of the world's best cyclists, but alongside her Grand Tour wins and Classics titles, she is also known as one of the most honest characters in the peloton, not least when it comes to talking about periods, nutrition and health among female athletes.

The FDJ United-Suez rider made headlines for her firm comments about rider weight after last year's Tour de France Femmes, and has frequently spoken about her period and menstrual cycle on her own platforms and in interviews, talking about how it can affect her in races.

Other riders have done the same – Kim Le Court-Pienaar and Marlen Reusser, for example – but Vollering says that her status as one of the sport's biggest stars has motivated her even more use her voice to talk about these issues.

"Speaking about these kind of topics, I felt always kind of an obligation to be true and speak out. I also really understand that I have a voice now where I am on the level, so I really want to use my voice," she said during her recent appearance on M.Talks, an interview series from nutrition sponsor Maurten.

"Sometimes I do it by accident, I'm just being too honest in an interview after the finish, [saying] that my period needs to come or something like this. Afterwards I always think it's crazy that it's still a taboo and still we don't know much about a lot of things, and that still a lot of female [athletes] still struggle or are trying to find their way in everything."

Research into the impact the menstrual cycle can have on performance is still in a nascent phase, with even less understanding about riders who may suffer from conditions like PCOS or endometriosis.

Awareness is growing about the issue of missed periods which was once seen as the norm in female endurance athletes, perhaps even a sign of being lean and light, but the growing conversation is reinforcing to riders, teams and onlookers that amenorrhea is a sign of poor health, and something that should be addressed. Not only can it be a symptom of deeper issues, it can also be the cause of further problems, such as low bone density or lower fertility.

Even for Vollering, the sport's biggest star and a pro since 2019, learning about the problems with cycles that female athletes face has been a learning curve.

"Since I spoke up, I've heard so many more girls who say that they don't have a period at all, or that they missed cycles," she said. "I think it's often quite painful for a lot of women if they don't have a period anymore, or they worry themselves and they don't want to share it, because maybe they don't want to get pity.

"Really I had no clue that it's such a big topic or big problem for a lot of women athletes that they lose their period and that it's so far never coming back, and also that they don't get any help, or that nobody knows how to help, that there is still so much unknown. I think that's the most worrying part for them, that they have no clue why and what's next."

Missing periods can be caused by many things, but for professional athletes one of the most common reasons are hormone imbalances caused by RED-S, which is often a result of under-fuelling or a low body weight. For this reason, Vollering wants young riders to focus on fuelling first, and to not worry about the ultra-light race weights they may see in the professional peloton.

"First it's most important that the basics are that you eat right before training, during training, after training, that you always make sure that you have energy to recover and to be ready for the next day. That's what young girls maybe almost forget in their journey, they want to go so fast so they think 'what can I do better? Ah, maybe it's eating less on the bike or after the bike' but often it's not.

"Try to eat good before the ride, during the ride and after the ride, just really focus on your recovery instead of trying to be as light as possible. That's really a small piece that comes all the way in the end – first you need to make sure that you're always energised for your training and that you can give 100 per cent in your training, because that's where you get stronger."

For Vollering, who has spoken openly about not targeting an extremely low bodyweight, missing periods is not as issue, but having a period also comes with its own physical and mental challenges. Many female riders choose to stop their period through hormonal contraceptive methods, but for Vollering, it's about understanding her symptoms, rather than shutting them off.

"Just before my period comes I always feel a bit less motivated, a bit more insecure, my sleep is less good, my heart rate is a bit higher, my breathing is a bit more hard," she explained. "It's a lot of small symptoms, but as soon as you start to understand all these symptoms, you also know it's natural and you try to accept it, because in the end I'm just happy and also proud that I'm a woman and we have these weird phases."

As Cyclingnews explored in a recent feature, part of our women's health series, tracking her menstrual cycle is also an important tool for Vollering.

"When you have your period, also keep tracking that and keep an eye on it, because if you have your period, it's really easy to have this monitor of if you're still good [healthy] or not, because if you're not, your period won't come or it's late or it's very little. So I think it's a really easy measurement," she said.

"I'm really aware of what's happening and also my mood, how it changes for example, or if I'm more hungry, then I always try to remember and find links with my cycle. For me that was super helpful because I started to understand 'ah, it's normal that I'm hungry' or normal that I have these cravings. Of course I shouldn't go crazy on chocolate or something like that, but you try to eat a bit more fruit."

Whilst Vollering seems to be in a good and healthy place when it comes to her weight, nutrition and menstrual cycle, she affirmed the need for athletes like her to be a good example for younger riders, and to keep the topic of women's health in the spotlight.

"I think it's very important that we keep pushing women's sport because I think we are really on a good way up, but I think there's still so much we can do to go further up. I think also for us female athletes it's just very important to keep speaking up, tell the world about this topic as well, because I think we really have a big [platform]. If you don't use that, then probably this topic goes a little bit more to the background again and we forget a little bit more about it," she said.

"The most important for me is always that people can see us, they can follow us, they can watch us, because then we can inspire the next generation, and that's most important, that we have the next generation of women athletes coming up."

Read Cyclingnews' women's health series

As part of our ongoing and unrivalled coverage of women's cycling, we have a new series of in-depth features, exclusive to our subscribers, covering numerous aspects of women's health. Subscribe here to read them in full and enjoy unlimited access to all our content.

► 'One of the most under-recognised threats in women's cycling' - Why it's more important than ever for athletes to dial in nutrition and hydration

► Why do we know so little about menstrual disorders like PCOS and endometriosis in cycling?

► How tracking your period, heart rate and vital stats can help female cyclists with performance

► How pro cycling is tackling its awkward relationship with low bone density