Magazine criticised for ‘token attractive woman’ caption

A cycling magazine has been hit with criticism after it captioned a photo of a female member of Hinckley Cycle Racing club as ‘token attractive woman’.

The magazine has now been branded “disgraceful” for the blunder which it blamed on a sub-editor chosing an ‘idiotic’ caption.

Cycling Weekly published the story about Hinckley Cycle Racing Club as it celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Club secretary Tim Ellershaw said: “It was a general feeling of disbelief when we saw it.

“Obviously we had been looking forward to the article for quite a while.

“It was a big deal for us to have a piece in a national magazine.

“She’s a sensible sort of person but she is upset and disappointed. “She’s a valuable member of our club. She’s a regular ride leader. She is not a token member in any respect.”

The calamitous caption has sparked a backlash online with one person asking whether it was real because it was “beyond belief”. Another described it as “everyday sexism”. The publication has now apologised in a statement by its editor.

Simon Richardson said: “Unfortunately during the magazine’s production process a member of the subediting team decided to write an idiotic caption on a photo of one of the female members of the club.

“The caption is neither funny nor representative of the way we feel or approach our work.”

He added that the magazine apologises “unreservedly” to the rider in the photograph, the Hinckley CRC and all of the magazine’s readers.