A bizarre bike race poster featuring two body-painted naked women disguised as a frog has ignited a fresh sexism row and been accused of 'spitting in the face of equality'.

While a flashing glance at the poster will conjure up an image of a simple green frog, a closer look reveals the women intimately wrapping each other up with their arms and legs.

This advert for a popular Belgian cycling event has received a backlash from fans of the sport which has a history of misogyny allegations.

A controversial poster promoting the E3 Harelbeke cycling event shows two naked women intimately embracing

The poster for the March 29 E3 Harelbeke race, captioned 'who will be the prince in Harelbeke?', has been condemned by cycling's world governing body which has ordered the organisers to remove it.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) said it 'regrets and strongly disapproves of the choice made by the organiser of the E3 BinckBank Classic'.

And many others took so social media to voice their anger over the controversial advertising campaign.

Cyclist magazine tweeted: 'Yesterday, E3 spat in the face of equality, again, with yet another inappropriate race poster.'

This is not the first time the organisers have been accused of sexism as in 2015 a promotional picture of a cyclist's hand touching a female's bottom caused uproar.

E3 Harelbeke's advertising drive in 2015 attracted similar criticism for referencing the moment Peter Sagan squeezed a woman's bottom on the podium

Peter Sagan, who apologised for pinching a woman't bottom in 2003, was kissed on each cheek after winning the E3 Harelbeke race in 2014

Although it was an allusion to Slovak Peter Sagan, who pinched a podium girl's bottom at the 2013 Tour de Flanders, it was widely criticised.

At the time, cycling author Suze Clemitson hit out at the E3 Harelbeke organisers and wrote: 'They’re like a bunch of little boys giggling at a glimpse of boob or arse, virtually masturbating over the idea of their campaigns going viral.'

In a statement about the race's latest gaff, the UCI said: 'The UCI has already intervened on several occasions in the past to remind the race's organiser of its responsibilities with regards to the image of cycling conveyed by its communication campaigns.'

But some saw the light-hearted side of the poster and defended E3's decision to use it.

One twitter user called Kwizim wrote: 'I agree with the organisers, it is much more art than anything else. There are things you should't do to women, this isn't one of them! UCI, some common sense please!'

The accusations of sexism come amid an overhaul in the sporting world which is trying to clean up its portrayal of women.

Last year saw the end of Formula 1's grid girls and darts' walk-on girls in what some slammed as political correctness.