Thursday's stage 18 of the Tour de France was a tough 145km ride featuring two HC climbs. If you're not familiar with Tour terminology, climbs are categorised one to four with one being the toughest. HC means Hors catégorie, a climb which has been deemed beyond classification.
After the stage Polish rider Bartosz Huzarski posted a picture on his Facebook page of his legs following the stage.
Reddit user gapus explained what caused Huzarski's veins to become so prominent.
When the body is trying to get rid of heat, the surface veins dilate and carry most of the return flow. Also, he's standing while supporting a lot of blood flow after riding. If he were riding, the movement of the muscles would be helping with the high venous blood flow back to heart, but while standing, gravity tends to cause it to fill the veins. He's not like this all the time. And they are normal veins, adapted for the amazing output his muscles have been trained to produce.
Huzarski finished the stage in 31st, 10:43 behind winner Vincenzo Nibali.
via Reddit
