Luxembourger Andy Schleck had made a blog post this week that referred to Team Katusha’s Filippo Pozzato as a “metrosexual”, which initially, the Italian champion didn’t find terribly amusing. He wasn’t completely sure of the meaning of the word and it prompted a mixed reaction.
The term originated in the mid-nineties from an article by Mark Simpson written for the Independent. “Metrosexual man, the single young man with a high disposable income, living or working in the city (because that’s where all the best shops are), is perhaps the most promising consumer market of the decade,” Simpson defined in the article. “In the Eighties he was only to be found inside fashion magazines such as GQ, in television advertisements for Levis jeans or in gay bars. In the Nineties, he’s everywhere and he’s going shopping.”
Wikipedia defines Metrosexual as a portmanteau of metropolitan and sexual, is a neologism of the 2000s that refers to a man (especially one living in a post-industrial, capitalist culture) that has a strong concern for his appearance or a lifestyle that displays attributes stereotypically associated with homosexual men.
Ladies have no fear, while Pozzato is certainly a rider that pays attention to his looks and style, it’s all for you (sorry guys). “Pippo knew the term ‘metrosexual'”, explained Schleck to De Standaard, “but for clarity: his sexual preference is only for women.”
Schleck said that the incident made for a good laugh on the road in Italy where they’re both taking part in Tirenno-Adriatico and adding jokingly, “Fortunately there is Google. [to look up the meaning] Pippo now also knows what the word means. But we could still have a laugh in the road.”