Cycling: Curiosities: Beard ban for Belgian cycling professionals

The beard has to be removed: the cyclists of the Belgian Sport Vlaanderen team are to appear as clean-shavenly as possible in the races in the future.”For aesthetic reasons”, the riders are to refrain from wearing their hair in the face, the local media quoted the initiator Walter Planckaert, sports director of the second-class professional team, as quoted by local media on Tuesday.

“I take this measure to maintain the elegance of cycling,”Planckaert told the Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad.

His athletes are not “motocross pilots or rugby players.Rotz and leftovers of food in the drivers’ beard are disgusting,”they continued.Cyclists are still allowed to carry stubble.However, if you have a full beard, you can look for another team, added Planckaert.