What's in your pack?

[MightyMitre]

This is the best pic I could find at the mo.http://www.ralphoverweel.nl/images/l...-microfoon.jpg

It's Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel who's a fantastic pro Belgium rider. She's won various of Olympic medals as well as being the top Belgium domestic rider. She's always know for wearing full make up and painted nails when she races - and it certainly doesn't seem to slow her down! I think she currently holds the womens 1 hour record on the track but she won't be defending it as she finally retired at the start of January.

She's a very interesting women. Several years ago when she was just hitting the big time she developed an eating disorder, the idea being that she was going fast at her current weight, but imagin how much faster she could go if only she lost a few more pounds.

Finally she went down to about 7st and I saw a photo of her in her team jersey and the arms and collar were seriously loose and she looked ill. In the end she'd lost so much weight, her performace went down hill and finally I think she had to take a year out to recover.

Basically, she then set up and organisation to share her experiences with others and make sportswomen aware of the pitfalls of weight loss - especially as 'lighter means faster' is ingrained in the sport, with some coaches being irresponsible by putting pressure on riders. Once she was back to a healthy weight she was flying again.

Anyway, can't see myself in full make-up. Don't even wear it during the day but good for those who want to, and can find stuff that stays on!