When I was a youngster, I did race and initially did not shave my legs. Then I had a thigh of road rash and it was not fun removing the bandages. Afterwards, I shaved the legs. Unfortunately had a wreck about a year later and rashed the other thigh. Bandages still hurt coming off but not nearly as much. So for me it wasn't about looks but basically since I am a wimp and hate pain, I shaved my legs. But since I hate pain, I quite racing and started touring so I could slow down and not cause pain . Now as a touring cyclist, I am hairy and pain free (but that is getting harder as I age).