Stockton council have withdrawn an ad for the Velo29 Endeavour Sportive following complaints that it was sexist.
The flyer, which was distributed by Stockton Borough Council, featured a grinning man in cycle gear alongside the caption: "Sarah's shopping in Stockton with the girls. I'm signed up for Stockton Sportive. That's Saturday sorted."
A story on the Independent website reports that Carole Jones, who helps to run the Cycle Sisters groups promoting cycling for women, complained to a local councillor.
"The message of the leaflet," she told the Northern Echo, "is 'come cycling if you are a young, affluent male.'"
Stockport council have stated that the leaflet, which cost around £500 to produce, will be replaced.
The Independent goes on to quote a statement from Councillor Ken Dixon, Stockton Council's cabinet member for arts, leisure and culture, who said: "It was certainly not our intention to imply that women and girls cannot participate in every part of the festival and having listened to the concerns raised, we have decided to withdraw this particular leaflet and produce a redesigned version.
"We do a great deal of work to encourage female participation in sport and active leisure, including women's running clubs and women's cycling groups, and unlike many national cycle race events the Stockton Cycling Festival includes elite women's racing, as well as recreational rides which are open to all.
"The festival takes place over the weekend of July 11 to 13 - just one week after the Tour de France comes to the North of England for the first time - and we would like to be very clear that it is very much for everybody," he added.
It's not the only instance of cycling advertising drawing attention in the past week. The promotional image for last week's E3-Harelbeke event in Belgium attracted criticism, after the event website featured a bodypainted female cyclist astride a 'bicycle' posed by three kneeling women.
British Cycling have a publicly stated ambition to get one million more women cycling by 2020, with a report in October 2013 claiming its women's strategy is "on track". However, participation in most sportive events remains overwhelmingly male-dominated, and posters like the Stockton blunder do little to shift the perception of sportives as male enclaves. Let's hope the publicity encourages a few more 'Sarahs' to sign up for the sportive and help change that.
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