This article was released on 21 March 2021, by Fiona Tomas in The Telegraph

‘If I wanted a baby, I needed my body healthy': Ex-cyclist Nikki Brammeier on tackling missed periods and RED-S

Stuck in a cycle of disordered eating, Brammeier suffered from Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) - now she wants to help others

Apart from her multiple World Cup podiums, Nikki Brammeier reflects on her 15-year professional cycling career as a blur of fasted rides, skipped meals and the constant curiosity of why she was not having periods. For three whole years during her twenties, she never once had a monthly bleed.

“I saw a gynaecologist about it, who told me, ‘Don’t worry, it’s totally normal, we see this all the time with female athletes who train a lot,’ ” says Brammeier, 34, a former four-time British cyclo-cross champion. “To me it was quite confusing, because I came away from the appointment thinking everything was OK.”

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