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.
“I had no idea it would resonate with people so much – not only cyclists but so many different athletes”.
Speaking out about body image in sport, Ray put a stake in the ground: Athletes should be using their body type to their advantage in their sport – not starving themselves or stuffing themselves to get ahead.
“Whatever you’re structurally made of, whatever body type you have, work with that instead of against it.”
Finding her sporting style
A dancer from the age of three right through to 16, Ray knew her muscular frame and strong legs were not the same body type as elite ballerinas.
“I definitely have wanted to be smaller in my life,” she says. “My genetics make it very easy for me to put on muscle and, for me, it feels good to feel strong in my body.
“I had this pretty little dainty ideal in my head of what I should look like, but I always knew I didn’t look like the prima ballerina.”
Her ‘strong legs’ gifted from her mother were actually more suited to putting power through her pedals on the bike she fell in love with after seeing her older brother ride for his Auckland Grammar high school team.
Ray is now in the final stages of an advertising degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and next year she will pause her studies, having signed for two more years of professional racing with Rally Cycling.
Her team have applied to step up to the UCI Women’s WorldTour – the highest tier of competition which will get them invites to the biggest races on the world calendar.
She specialises in the criterium, or the ‘crit’ - is a faster, shorter and more aggressive bike event. “It’s my style and it suits my body,” she says.
The crit is a street race involving laps around a tight circuit and involving plenty of sprinting action – it’s fast and physical. And Ray is very handy at it, winning the 2020 national championships here and collecting a raft of podium finishes on the US circuit.
Ray also races on the track, winning the 10km scratch race at this year’s national track championships on a trip back home from the States.
As more professional cycling teams are starting to take a more holistic approach to their riders’ mental health and performance, Ray volunteered to take part in her Rally team’s discussion around mental health awareness and body positivity in cycling.
The body positivity movement celebrates that regardless of shape, size and athletic prowess, all bodies should be celebrated.
There lies the tension in elite sport, where measurements like power-to-weight ratio are critical for performance - but crossing the line can lead to eating disorders and Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (or RED-S).
Weight and body fat measurements are part and parcel of high-performance sport.
Thankfully, says Ray, measuring herself isn’t something she personally prioritises, choosing to focus instead on other training metrics to give an indication of where she is at physically.
Sending the right message
Growing up with two brothers, Ray had a healthy childhood where she ate well for the active life she led. However, going to an all-girls high school, Ray found herself constantly comparing herself to others.
“It’s really hard to uplift each other in this constant state of comparison,” she says.
Social media doesn’t help: “Instagram – it’s tough for your brain”.
Ray says the key is in educating athletes to understand the individual importance of fuelling for performance.
It’s a message that Rally Women’s team director - and fellow Kiwi - Joanne Kiesanowski is clear on with her team.
“Everyone fuels, trains and recovers differently,” says Olympian Kiesanowski, emphasising therefore everyone’s body shape is ultimately different.
“I feel it’s critical in sport to realise that one’s body doesn’t have to look a certain way to perform and exude strength.”
Making sure the language and messaging for coaches and parents is clear around the importance of fuelling is an important part of the equation.
“Coaches need to push this idea of being a nutritionally-sound athlete,” Kiesanowski says.
“Before you work out you fuel, during you stay hydrated and when you finish you have all the macronutrients to recover and perform the next day.”
Looking back, Ray remembers long days dancing often without food breaks and then rushing out of the studio to get some sugar to keep going.
By contrast, she recalls playing touch rugby with her mates in her early years of high school and after training, her touch rugby coach telling the group of young girls to go home, drink some water and eat a good steak to get some protein and iron to recover better.
“That message was powerful and then it was reinforced seeing Sarah Ulmer and the rowing [Evers-Swindell] twins front the beef and lamb ads,” says Ray. “It’s a hugely important message for young women who are afraid to eat more.”
With maturity, Ray says, has come a body acceptance and she’s grateful to have the knowledge of being able to tweak her diet to get the best out of her body in a safe way.
“I’ve never had major issues with food like an eating disorder, which is way too common in sport,” she says. “When I have negative thoughts, mostly I’m able to say I’m realising those thoughts and I’ve got things I can do to quiet them down.
“For me, I know what things are beneficial to me [mentally and physically] – riding my bike and working out.”
With the Paris 2024 Olympics squarely in her sights, Ray knows she needs to keep fuelling right for her childhood sporting dream to come true – using her body in the sport it’s suited to.
Kiesanowski says Ray’s vulnerability shown throughout this campaign has helped others come to grips about the reality of body image in sport.
“Olivia’s honesty has showcased her mental and physical strength,” she says. She is a “wellbeing champion”.
On the Rally Cycling site, Ray was asked what she sees in the mirror – on a good day.
“I see growth from years ago from where I was to where I am. I see things I would like to work on, but I think subconsciously – and I like to keep these sorts of things to myself, like I wouldn’t say this on the team bus, or in an Instagram caption – but I see the strength, then I get a little cheeky and think ‘Damn, I can’t wait to prove it!’”
