Article: The ballerina who found her mighty cycling legs
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26 October 2021: Article was written by Sarah Cowley-Ross for The LockerRoom
In part two of Out into the Open, a LockerRoom series on female athlete wellbeing, pro cyclist Olivia Ray is out to shatter the myths around body image in cycling - and sport.
There’s a certain perception of how a particular athlete from a given sport should look. And elite cyclists aren’t immune to body image expectations.
So, when Kiwi professional cyclist Olivia Ray spoke openly about athlete body image positivity, she didn’t quite realise the impact of her message on the global cycling community – and beyond.
“There’s a real emphasis on being as light as possible as a cyclist to get up the hills faster,” says Ray, 22, based in Atlanta with the Rally Cycling team. “There’s a fine line, though, when you stop being powerful and your weight becomes detrimental to performance.