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Wiggins effect & shaved legs said to lie behind rise in thread vein removal surgery among male cyclists

Clinic has cyclists queueing for procedure, but is it really down to post-TDF and London 2012 boom? We're not so sure...

A big increase in the number of men undergoing cosmetic surgery to have thread veins removed from their legs is being linked a boom in cycling following the London 2012 Olympic Games and Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France win last summer.

Manchester-based Dr Peter Finigan, a member of the Dr Newmans Clinic network, which specialises in thread vein removal, says that since last September he has performed the procedure on in excess of 50 male cyclists reports Mail Online.

“There has been a significant rise in male cyclists requesting our treatment,” he explained. “One comes along, has his thread veins removed, and recommends it to his friends.

“Then three or four more from the same cycling club make appointments to see us because they’ve been talking about their thread veins to each other when they have a break.”

Causes of the unsightly red or blue veins include hereditary factors, obesity, or excessive consumption of alcohol.

“It’s normally only once they’ve shaved or waxed their legs that they even notice the thread veins, even though they may have had them for years,” continued Dr Finigan.

“Sometimes, fellow cyclists point them out, so they feel self-conscious and want to do something about them.”

Mail Online points out that “In the three months following Bradley Wiggins’ Tour De France victory in July, 10,000 new members joined Cycling UK [sic], donned their lycra and took to the roads.”

It adds: “Many also decided to replicate their cycling heroes by shaving their legs,” the implication being that it is recent converts to cycling - often termed middle aged men in Lycra, or MAMILs - that have chosen to go hairless who are fuelling the rise in cosmetic surgery.

While it is indeed true that British Cycling – Mail Online’s ‘Cycling UK’ – saw a big upswing in membership last year, we suspect many, if not most, of those cyclists will have been cycling regularly for some time before joining the organisation.

We’d also be surprised if a significant number of men - well, any of them, really - decided overnight not only to take up cycling and buy a road bike, but also to start shaving their legs at the same time.

While there’s little disputing Dr Finigan’s statement regarding patient numbers, we suspect the men concerned will have been cycling seriously for some time.

It is often assumed that the sole reason for cyclists shaving their legs is due to improved aerodynamics – and at elite level, evidence is that it can help save potentially valuable seconds over a long time trial, for example.

But ease of massage and treating injuries are equally, if not more important reasons, as is the tradition and ritualistic aspect.

Here’s VecchioJo’s take on it.

Do you shave your legs? If so, how soon did you begin doing so after taking up cycling, and what was the prime reason for starting?

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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29 comments

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alg | 11 years ago
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I didnt know cycling was so camp
Think I'll keep my winter tights on all year just in case anyone get the wrong idea - mind you I'll probably need them anyway the way temperatures are going

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Mat Brett replied to alg | 11 years ago
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alg wrote:

I didnt know cycling was so camp
Think I'll keep my winter tights on...

Hoisted by your own petard!

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djpalmer32 | 11 years ago
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I don't shave my legs and I'm not shallow and vain to want my thread veins done.

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Simmo72 | 11 years ago
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Don't care, for non racers its only about looks and I couldn't give a hairy arse what people think of me. When I'm fit its a joy to overtake a cleanly shaven, stem slamming, pro idoliser on a 5k bike with nothing but my hairy pins.

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Matt_S | 11 years ago
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All the way up to my ears...

 44

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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If I was going away on one of these European trips where you live like a pro for a week and get a massage every night, then I might consider it.

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sodit | 11 years ago
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Sod that I detest shaving my face bugger shaving my legs what do you gain as an enthusiast oh yes the wife taking the p**s  16

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Pierre | 11 years ago
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I shave my legs. I'm not sure completely why, but it partly stems from a big tour I did where the physios were much happier massaging shaved legs, it partly reminds me to keep looking after my legs (I feel more like a "proper cyclist" with shaved legs so am more likely to get off my arse and go for a ride or say no to another pint), and partly because for some reason my leg hair is the type that likes poking through lycra, and that's not a good look.

To answer the "how far up do you shave" question, I tend to stop about 2/3 up my thighs, so that even in my shortest shorts I'm not hairy; I use an electronic clipper thing to keep everything above that to about grade 1, which keeps things tidy and doesn't leave such an obvious line between shaved and clipped - i.e. avoiding the "hairy shorts" look.

Well, that's more about myself than I'm used to revealing to a bunch of complete strangers!

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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Think it might have been something Graeme Obree was talking about.

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andyp | 11 years ago
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'Hairs on legs are more aero (due to an effect like the dimples on a golf ball)'

reference please?

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aslongasicycle | 11 years ago
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I stopped shaving my legs after 25 years a couple of years ago. My wife had out first baby recently.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

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seabass89 | 11 years ago
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I don't shave my legs.

With a nice furry coat of hairs that I have I can pick up radio signals, and its a good listen when I am bored, you know.  26

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Vin Cox | 11 years ago
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Shaving your legs; cycling can be the excuse if you like, but don't kid yourself there is anything to be gained. It's just a fetish. Hairs on legs are more aero (due to an effect like the dimples on a golf ball), and they are certainly natural. Pro cyclists shave because they have daily massages, weekly road rash, and sponsors to look sleek for - how many readers of this can justify it on those grounds?

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Dave Krentz | 11 years ago
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And here I was just on my way out the door, in my Sugoi full length winter tights, to buy blades! Don't want to be monkey boy when I switch to capri tights tomorrow.

I started shaving right after the first ride with my club, way back in 1984.

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Furry Mommy | 11 years ago
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Strewth....I don't like shaving my face...so why in hell would I want to shave my legs!!??  13

As I'm generally quite furry all over anyway....so without going for a full body shave I see absolutely no point in shaving my legs!!

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Linkinbassist | 11 years ago
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I need to start shaving, I do feel a tad out of place on my club runs as the hairiest man there. Also, racing starts soon and I don't really fancy hair in my road rash should the worst happen...

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pdows47 | 11 years ago
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It wasn't the club, the guys there are ace and have never said anything to anyone about how they look (shaved, kit, lids, or bikes). The issue was mainly me, looking the odd one out, it made me a little uncomfortable, so I did it, it's definitely made it easier those times I've come off (mainly with the MTB folks, I'm not very good at that :P)

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downfader | 11 years ago
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I've never shaved my legs in my life. Not that my legs are any where near mildly hairy that anyone would notice.

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notfastenough | 11 years ago
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I tried it years ago when riding with a club where it 'should be done'. I was still only a kid, ok?! About 16/17 I think.

Anyway, for the benefit of Joemmo, the first time, I did the whole of my legs. Then two days later the stubble on my thighs made my nutsack sore. (Sorry, no nicer way to put it) So then I left a bit towards the top of my thighs, but the contrast between shaved and unshaved just made it look like I had no leg hair but that my pubes had run wild and were spreading down my thighs!

Oh, and it feels like wind whips right through your trousers, even jeans.

Anyway, these days, if I was made to feel like a tool for not doing it, I *would* be finding a different club.

For a UK-based amateur (read: often requires 3/4s or tights due to weather, doesn't get regular massage, doesn't need to shave 3 seconds off a 25 mile TT), the best reason I can see for shaving is to avoid the hair poking through the tights and giving you an awful 'furry lycra' look, and the associated increased comfort of not pulling hair in unintended directions due to the wearing of lycra.

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nowasps | 11 years ago
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I shaved one leg, but found no gains, marginal or otherwise, so I didn't bother with the other one.

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farrell | 11 years ago
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I live in Manchester and I cycle, I've never heard of anyone having this done and I've never heard of this surgery/practice.

I'm very much with Phax7 on this one.

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cidermart | 11 years ago
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Real men have them waxed then you truly have a reason to say "Shut up legs!"  19

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joemmo | 11 years ago
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Question for the more hirsute leg shaver - if you are a gentleman blessed with a comprehensive fur coat, how do you decide where to draw - or shave - the line?

Have to say if I was made to feel 'a dick' for not having shaved legs on a club run I'd be tempted to find another club.

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phax71 | 11 years ago
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This sounds suspiciously like someone "making sh1t up" in the hope tht itleads to some business ..

Move along, nothing to see here..

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PRINCIPIA PHIL | 11 years ago
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Yes i shave mine, though i'd been cycling for 18 years or so before i felt i'd earned the right. Nothing to do with aerodynamics, cuts, massaging or any of that as i've never raced so have never had a post ride rub down by a soigneur...
For me it's a badge that i take my cycling seriously, along with the tan lines that never fade away (even in the dead of winter).
The problem is in circuit training you do get comments as running shorts are shorter than cycling shorts and show a whiter shade of pale up top - it's been suggested that i get St Tropez'd to mask the tan line!! So i've had to tell them that the tan lines are hard earned and are my badge of honour, taking thousands of miles of cycling to achieve. They usually think i've come back from a summer holiday and are amazed to hear that the tan has come from not so sunny Northern Ireland.
A word of warning to anyone who hasn't shaved before, once you start you won't stop - because to itching after a couple of days regrowth will drive you mad and back to your razor for some relief..

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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If I had the money for this I would start with the veins on my face first. I don't have any vanity spare for my legs; thought this post was going to be about Varicose veins.

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LeDomestique | 11 years ago
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Definitely going to give shaving a go.......just need the daytime temperature to rise above -1.

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pdows47 | 11 years ago
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Took about 3 months of serious cycling before I did. I was slightly fed up of looking a dick on club runs, as well as the fact I like the feel, not so much the look since I've had no sun to tan them yet this year, and my girlfriend likes it. But seriously, nothing beats the wind feel when you go fast.

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6654henry | 11 years ago
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It's cool.

The chicks dig it.

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