A cycling magazine has apologised for an “idiotic” picture caption that labelled a female cyclist a “token attractive woman”.

The image showed the Hinckley Cycle Racing Club from Leicestershire, which was showcased in Cycling Weekly magazine’s regular “We ride with …” feature, in which a writer goes on a club ride.

The caption was noticed by one of the club’s members, who posted on Twitter: “So my cycling club made it into @cyclingweekly and this happened. I hope @cyclingweekly apologise. Still a lot of equality work to do it.”

So my cycling club made it into @cyclingweekly and this happened. I hope @cyclingweekly apologise. Still a lot of equality work to do it. pic.twitter.com/bdSGsYMDlW — Carlos Fandango (@Chapeau_Velo) August 31, 2017

Within a few hours, the magazine’s editor had issued a full apology, blaming a subeditor for adding the draft caption, which was not spotted by colleagues before the publication went to press.

Simon Richardson said: “This appalling lack of judgment by an individual is just that, and not a reflection of the culture in the CW office.” He said the caption was “neither funny nor representative of the way we feel or approach our work”.

Sarah Connolly, who commentates on women’s cycle racing, welcomed the apology but questioned Richardson’s claim that it did not indicate a culture of sexism at the magazine. “It’s good he describes it as ‘idiotic’, still bad about what it says re CW culture,” she wrote on Twitter.

Cycling Weekly response to "token attractive woman" BS. It's good he describes it as "idiotic", still bad about what it says re CW culture https://t.co/4IlA1xPtCb — Sarah Connolly 🚲 (@PWCycling) September 1, 2017

Sexism in cycling is a long-standing issue. In 2015, the Italian bikemaker Colnago apologised after tweeting a picture of a woman on one of its bikes, her bottom to the camera, with the caption: “Ready for the weekend ride?”

In 2013, the future world champion Peter Sagan had to apologise after pinching the bottom of one of the “podium girls” when he was at the Tour of Flanders.

Maja Leye, 25, who was planting the traditional kiss on the cheek of the winner, Fabian Cancellara, when Sagan touched her, told Het Nieuwsblad: “Suddenly, I felt this hand. I hadn’t seen it coming because I had my back to him. I understood quickly what had happened. I was frozen to the spot.”

Podium girls are as divisive in cycling as the introduction of disc brakes. Some consider the sight of women in tight dresses kissing the cheeks of the winner as an anachronism, while others see them as a harmless tradition. This year, the organisers of the Vuelta a España decided to replace them with “elegantly dressed men and women”, following the lead of the Tour Down Under in Australia.