‘It is quite sick’: Tour de France rider’s eating issue acts as warning for others

Jonas Abrahamsen is a name that probably wont resonate with many sports fans in Australia.

Viewers of the first week of the Tour de France will not have been able to avoid seeing the 28-year-old Norwegian though.

Since finishing second on stage two, Abrahamsen has been front and centre on every stage, wearing the green jersey for the opening four stages and, currently, the polka dot jersey.

That a 78kg, 183cm-tall rider should be wearing the jersey commonly associated with the super-light mountain goats in the first week of a grand tour is, in itself, not unusual.

Early breakaways and hunting point bonuses over the smaller climbs means the early stages often see a wildcard take that particular prize early in the race.

However, Abrahamsen’s recent success comes amidst a backdrop of under eating that resulted in delayed puberty.

As a younger rider, Abrahamsen was obsessed with being as light as possible.

That again, is not uncommon in cycling, where Watts per kilo — the amount of power a rider can produce in relation to their weight — is the overriding statistic.

Abrahamsen though, took it to a whole new level.

“It was crazy,” Abrahamsen told The Cycling Podcast. “My body was completely different.” 

Inspired by riders such as four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, Abrahamsen endeavoured to be as skinny as possible, dropping to as low as 60kg.

Froome, who at 186cm is slightly taller than Abrahamsen, is listed as being 68kg. Defending two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard weighs 60kg but is just 174cm tall.

“When I started cycling it was very popular to be very skinny,” Abrahamsen added in that interview with The Cycling Podcast.

“All my favourite riders were very skinny and I was looking up to them.

“I was always hoping to be 60 kilo but that was hard especially because I was always hungry.”

It had disastrous consequences.

Acknowledging that his cycling was going backwards, Abrahamsen started to gain weight — quite a bit of weight, as it turned out.

“I felt like I hadn’t progressed in my career as I was hoping for,” Abrahamsen said.

“I had to do something to be better. I know my muscles do better when they get more fuel, so I started to fuel more.

“I gained some weight, 20 kilo, and after that I feel strong and stronger every year.”

If you or someone you know needs help:

Butterfly National Helpline — 1800 33 4673Eating Disorders Families Australia — 1300 195 626Eating Disorders Victoria  — 1300 550 236Professionals Credentialed in Eating DisordersLifeline on 13 11 14Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800MensLine — 1300 78 99 78

Suddenly, by eating properly, he noticed other things happen.

In his mid 20s, Abrahamsen went through a delayed puberty, growing a whopping 6cm and belatedly requiring a shaving kit.

As he told Norwegian TV channel TV2 Norge prior to this year’s Tour, he even started to take notice of women for the first time in his life.

“I was so skinny, I think my body was just waiting,” Abrahamsen said.

“It is quite sick that you can torture your body so much and eat so little that you postpone puberty,” Abrahamsen said in that TV2 Norge interview, that also featured a revealing set of photos of Abrahamsen naked on his bike.

Abrahamsen credits his nutritionist, James Moran at Team Uno-X, for giving him the right advice to gain the weight properly — as the photos from that revealing TV2 shoot show.

“It’s crazy because my skin fold is essentially them same but my muscles go up 20 kilos, so it’s insane,” Abrahamsen told The Cycling Podcast.

“Now I eat cakes and candy and also normal food, I just eat normal. My body reacts very well to that.”

Abrahamsen’s story is not uncommon.

As Australian swimmer Lani Pallister outlined after qualifying for her first Olympics at last month’s Australian Swimming Trials: “I still can’t believe that I thought having one, maybe two meals a day would allow me to become an athlete.”

“Eating disorders come with a lot of shame,” Pallister said.

“Because you kinda know that you’re doing the wrong thing and it’s not a healthy coping mechanism but you kinda get stuck in that sort of pattern.

“I think it’s such an important thing to be able talk about.”

Abrahamsen agreed with that sentiment, encouraging other young riders to be sure they are looking after themselves properly.

“I think its very important for young riders to just eat enough,” Abrahamsen told The Cycling Podcast.

“I also weighed food a lot, but now I eat to what my body needs.”

It’s a policy that has clearly paid off, with Abrahamsen claiming a classic victory in Belgium earlier in the year, as well as winning the mountains jersey at the Etoile de Bessèges — Tour du Gard.

“It’s pretty special. Maybe I’m climbing better now than when I was 60 kilos.”