“I haven’t had my period for three years”: Tour de France Femmes mountain leader exposes the severe health toll of elite cycling
CyclingMonday, 03 August 2026 at 01:00
Océane Mahé enjoyed the biggest day of her career so far by taking the Queen of the Mountains jersey on the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes. Yet behind the celebrations, the French rider also delivered a powerful message about the physical toll elite cycling can take, revealing she has not had her menstrual cycle for three years due to the demands of high-performance sport.
A dream Tour debut
Mahé made an unforgettable start to her first Tour de France Femmes by joining the breakaway on the opening stage around Lausanne, collecting enough mountain points to secure the coveted polka dot jersey.
The 24-year-old, riding for French ProTeam Ma Petite Entreprise, admitted the achievement exceeded her expectations. “It's incredible. It's my first Tour de France, it's the first stage, it's the team's first Tour and I'm so happy,” she said in words gathered by RMC Sport.
The result also sent a strong message about her newly formed team. “We're showing that we don't have to be ashamed in front of the bigger teams. It's such an iconic jersey, it's amazing. I think I'll be looking at myself in the mirror a lot.”
“The ‘Come on, Océane!’ cheers... I think the other girls in the breakaway must have been fed up because they were all for me. It was fantastic. There were people all along the roadside. We weren't bored for a single moment.”
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Before the race began, Mahé also spoke candidly about the health consequences of the extreme physical demands placed on professional cyclists.
The topic of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) has become increasingly prominent in women's cycling, with one of its common symptoms being the loss of the menstrual cycle. Mahé revealed she has experienced exactly that after significant weight loss. “I haven't had my period for three years.”
She explained that the issue reflects the strain elite competition places on athletes' bodies. “It's not necessarily good news, but we know that as elite athletes we push our bodies enormously. We use up our reserves and unfortunately my hormonal system decided to go into standby a little over three years ago.”
Lorena Wiebes won the second stage of the Tour de France Femmes 2026
Building a career despite financial challenges
After Arkéa-B&B Hôtels folded at the end of the 2025 season, Mahé found a new opportunity with Ma Petite Entreprise, a unique project financially supported by hundreds of entrepreneurs.
Despite competing at the highest level, she revealed her financial situation remains modest. “This year my salary is just a little above the French minimum wage. I earn exactly €1,550 per month.”
Her income is supplemented by both family support and an engineering internship. “My parents still help me a little, especially with paying my rent. I also receive an internship allowance because I'm an engineering intern at a company, which gives me a little extra and makes things more comfortable.”
Despite not being present in the breakaway of the day in stage 2, Mahé managed to retain the jersey, only 1 point ahead of Anouska Koster. Stage 3 will be another key day for her, as there will be four categorized climbs.
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- Or; it's just a bit of fun and probably doesn't look great to destroy a field of amateurs for the sake of it. That and having just done a GT and maybe being a bit tired.wrsty03-08-2026
- Not interesting. They had a head start. Why not give the segment times of each ?captmike03-08-2026
- "Good, they're dropping some mid-pack riders to make way for a couple of marquee signings... oh, they're just replacing them with more mid-pack riders, and older ones at that" My thought process on reading this article. The day Arensman decides to leave and Ganna retires (and I don't think those days are very far away) Ineos are going to be in real trouble. Letting Carapaz and Martinez go in recent years looked stupid at the time and is only looking worse now.jacks9003-08-2026
- Half a dozen amateurs doing what the pros can't!! Pogi must be washed upslappers6602-08-2026
- B listers won’t return them to World Tour winning ways.mobk02-08-2026
- Yeah, they probably just don't have enough money to do what they really want to be able to docyclist02-08-2026
- Given what she's said before, this sounds like code for: I'm trying to convince Jonas to not race and stay at home
Rafionain-Glas02-08-2026 - That was an awesome ride by Markus. So close. Wiebes though, ain’t nobody beating her in a sprint.Pedalmasher02-08-2026
- Time is up for Ineos......
Senna196002-08-2026 - Guy could easily have been a top-end pro!
leedorney02-08-2026
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