Moustaches and cycling share a long history. Maurice-François Garin, winner of the first Tour de France way back in 1903, famously sported a handlebar moustache and in the 110 years since many pros have grown out the ol’ top-lip warmer.
Lucien Petit-Breton, Danny Clarke and this guy are just some of the many men to have combined a love of cycling with a love of selective facial hair cultivation.
Of course it’s all a bit of fun to grow out a patch of laughter-inducing facial hair, but there are good reasons to get on board the Movember train as well.
Champions such as Lachlan Morton and John Degenkolb are two of the coolest cats in the pro peloton, and it can be traced down to one thing: the Mo.
The annual campaign is all about having an ongoing positive impact on men’s health, particularly when it comes to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.
Funds raised throughout the month are invested in programs focused on awareness and education, on living with and beyond cancer and on research. Click here for more info about where donations go.
So what can you do to get involved?
If you’re an individual, join up and grow a mo of your own, making sure you follow the Movember rules (e.g. you must start November 1 with a clean-shaven face & there is to no joining of the tash to the sideburns).
If you’re in charge of a cycling club or other cycling-related organisation, why not create a Movember team, which individuals can then join, and link that team to the CyclingTips network (this way we can keep track of all the cycling networks).
We’ll also be promoting “Mo Sprint Primes” in criteriums around the world for Movember and we have a number of clubs already committed to doing this. Please get in contact ([email protected]) if your club is interested so we can post your photos to share.
Matt “Chevron” Keenan, Scott “fu manchu” McGrory and Wade “Walrus” Wallace from The Bike Lane will be growing out our top lip and we’re currently chasing some of our pro cycling friends to add some ‘pros with mos’ to our network. Word on the street is that the Secret Pro (or should that be Secret Mo?) will be tashing up as well.
If you’d rather not gro a mo (because you’re a woman, say, or because you’d just rather not) you can still help support men’s health by donating to the cause. Alternatively, you can show your support by not shaving your legs for the month. Just hit up the CyclingTips network page and leave a donation.
Beyond joining our network or donating, you can also be part of the CyclingTips Movember community by posting photos of yourself or your moustachioed mates while you’re out riding. It can be anything that’s cycling and Movember related. Get creative!
Just be sure to post your photos via Instagram and/or Twitter and use the #MoVelo hashtag. We’ll collect some of the best pictures and share them around at the end of the month for everyone to see.
Some of the prominent Pro-Mos from last year: Koen de Kort, Greg Henderson, Shane Perkins, Andre Greipel, Leigh Howard and Jens Mouris.
Join the CyclingTips team as we embark on a month of hair-lipped lycra goodness, all for a good cause!
