A Turkish provincial governor has been removed from his post after photos emerged of him cycling in tight-fitting lycra sportswear, deemed undignified for a public official representing the state.
Turkish authorities cited a loss of authority and respect for the office, with critics arguing that the skin-tight, stretchy cycling kit undermined the solemn image expected of a governor.
“A governor in leggings? That simply won’t do. Such governors should be removed from office, or at least issued a fig leaf,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) opposition MP İnan Akgün Alp said after images surfaced of Ardahan governor Mehmet Fatih Çiçekli.
The remarks quickly escalated into a parliamentary row and contributed to Çiçekli’s dismissal by presidential decree.
“Governors represent the state, they are the president’s commanders in the provinces,” former Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Şamil Tayyar wrote on social media.
“Neither citizens nor his own civil servants will take a governor in leggings seriously. He has no authority.”
“I practise various sports at a near-professional level,” Çiçekli told the newspaper BirGün. “I am a sailor, rower and cyclist. I also wear my sports kit early in the morning for my daily fitness routine.”
He stressed that he never wears the athletic outfits during working hours.
“This decision is at the discretion of our superiors. They deemed it so. May our state and our nation endure.”
Professional cycling’s standard uniform, clinging, brightly coloured spandex that leaves little to the imagination, looks particularly unflattering and ridiculous on most adult men.
The fabric stretches and clings in ways that accentuate every bulge and contour, turning what should be a display of fitness into an unintentionally comical or awkward spectacle.
Far from projecting strength or authority, it often appears emasculating and try-hard, especially for someone in a position of formal power.
Cycling as a sport is notoriously rife with doping scandals that have plagued it for decades (Lance Armstrong, Operación Puerto and countless Tour de France controversies).
The aggressive peloton dynamics add to an image that feels more obnoxious than athletic.
Turkey has long celebrated sports that embody strength, discipline and traditional masculinity, with wrestling, particularly oil wrestling (yağlı güreş), holding a revered place in national culture as a symbol of virility, strategy and heritage dating back to Ottoman times.
Other favoured disciplines such as weightlifting, combat sports, archery and equestrian events similarly emphasise power, agility and stoic aesthetics.
Bisiklet sürerken çekilen taytlı görüntüleriyle TBMM gündemine gelen Ardahan Valisi Mehmet Fatih Çiçekli, Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın imzasıyla görevden alındı. pic.twitter.com/mnnBI0XZ2o
— Sözcü (@gazetesozcu) July 18, 2026
