Faster Cyclists Attract All the Girls

Human females may have evolved to prefer faster males, a study published in Biology Letters suggests. Portraits of 80 male cyclists were rated for attractiveness by 800 people, including both males and females, and their average scores compared with their performances in the 2012 Tour de France. This revealed that those who performed better were also deemed more attractive by female participants.

In many other species, females prefer certain male traits, such as brightly coloured feathers or large ornaments, which positively correlate with reproductive success. These may influence reproductive success directly, for example by aiding the defence of young, or indirectly by conferring “good genes” that enhance the competitive abilities of offspring. Similarly, it seems that human females may be using facial characteristics in order to judge a male’s endurance capabilities. Good health or a competitive personality could be beneficial traits that correlate with this, and have lead to the  female preference emerging. However, in early hominids, a high level of endurance could also have resulted in an increased capacity to hunt and gather food. Females in turn may have been selected to find this attractive, as males with a higher level of performance would have been better at providing their family with resources, thus increasing reproductive success.

Interestingly, the study also found that a preference for faster males was greatly reduced in females taking a hormonal contraceptive. “Hormones play an important role when assessing potential sexual partners”, says Erik Postma, the author of the study.

Although a definite link between high endurance and increased reproductive success remains to be demonstrated, this study offers a fascinating insight into the possible evolutionary origins and mechanisms underlying partner choice in humans.

A link to the study can be found here:

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/10/2/20130966.full.pdf+html