'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, the reigning Tour de France Femmes champion, has publicly reiterated her commitment to keeping periods and women's health in the spotlight within professional cycling. Speaking after her recent success, Vollering stated she felt an "obligation to be truthful and speak out," advocating for continued open discussion and research into how menstrual cycles impact performance and rider well-being, particularly for athletes at the elite level.

Vollering's outspoken stance follows a growing, albeit still nascent, movement within women's cycling to destigmatize and better understand the physiological realities faced by female athletes. Her influential voice, as one of the sport's most dominant figures, lends significant weight to a conversation often relegated to the sidelines. This push for transparency and data-driven insights is crucial for optimizing training, nutrition, and overall support structures, moving beyond historical assumptions and towards evidence-based practices.

Vollering's continued advocacy is a welcome, necessary push. It's high time the sport moved past polite silence and genuinely invested in understanding its female athletes, rather than simply celebrating their results.