"He blackmailed us with food...": Magdeleine Vallieres confides how unhealthy obsession nearly sucked out her joy of cycling

Enough was written about the breakthrough of Magdeleine Vallieres. The Canadian cyclist's path to the top was far from straightforward, but the end of 2025 season finally saw her hard work rewarded with a rainbow jersey. Clearly, joining EF Education-Oatly was the right decision for her career.

But before moving up to professionals, Vallieres had to fight hard to earn her spot in Europe while racing for the continental WCC Team. Under the patronage of UCI, the World Cycling Centre project presented unique opportunity for riders from around the world to have a shot at achieving their cycling dreams. But it came with downsides too.

With little experience at the time, Vallieres allowed herself to be guided by the people around her. "Back then I didn’t know the basics, and I didn’t realise how important it is to eat enough when you train a lot," she told L’Équipe. The result was severe under-fuelling.

That situation was largely caused by an unnamed coach. "He told us we were fat, that we would be better off if we were lighter. He blackmailed us with food, saying that if we ate certain things, we’d have to run behind the team car," Vallieres explains. "When someone grabs your stomach every morning to show you that you’re fat, it eventually gets into your head."

That led to an unhealthy obsession with food: "I restricted myself; he said we weren’t allowed to eat sugar, even though we actually needed it. I ate more salad than anything else; it didn’t do me any good, it only made me feel worse," she says.

Her transfer to EF might have come just in time to save the career of Vallieres. Under more professional guidance, the Canadian gradually built herself back to her best level while once again feeling comfortable in her own body.

"It took a year before I had a healthy mindset around nutrition again. Anna, the team’s nutritionist, told me that getting my period back was becoming a priority - and that was also what I wanted, because I knew it wasn’t normal," Vallieres explains. Of course nutrition remains an important aspect of cycling, but eating no longer comes with unease and feeling of guilt for Vallieres thanks to her new team.

And how did she reward herself for a World Championship title? "I celebrated by buying myself a small cake, and my teammates came to congratulate me. Anna kept telling me how much stronger I was going to become," she recalls.

Finally, Vallieres wants to appeal to the future generations that while pushing their bodies to the limit in races is not a bad thing, doing so off the bike can have consequences that far transcend cycling. And when your body is being stretched in an unhealthy manner, it's bound hit back like a wrecking ball.

"Being thin to win is not a good example for the next generation. It’s not right. My experience has taught me that being healthy is the best way to perform," Vallieres concludes.