From a 'skinny broken girl into a strong woman' - Clara Koppenburg finds new strength in gravel after battling an eating disorder
After a decade on the road and a public battle with an eating disorder, the former WorldTour racer says gravel has given her a new challenge and a different relationship with her body
Clara Koppenburg, once a skinny and "broken" professional road cyclist, has found newfound strength and confidence in the world of gravel racing. After battling an eating disorder for a decade, Koppenburg, now 31, has embraced a new challenge in the sport she loves. She revealed that being regarded as a climber only pushed her further towards weight loss, and her recovery journey meant accepting fluctuations in weight, hormones, and power-to-weight ratio.
This year, Koppenburg shifted her focus from weight loss to building strength and durability, particularly in the demanding world of gravel racing. She recently changed disciplines and joined the Tudor Pro Cycling Gravel team, finding the gravel races to be more about strength and power than weight. Her first Unbound Gravel race finished inside the top 20, and she has since achieved top-10 finishes at other events in the UCI Gravel World Series.
Koppenburg is expected to compete at the upcoming UCI Gravel World Championships in Nannup, Western Australia.
Written by urgent.news from Cycling Weekly's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
