It caused a media storm when it was announced earlier this week, the new flesh-coloured team kit of the Bogota Humane Female Cycling Team, which makes the athletes appear naked below the waist.

The new outfits caused such a furore that Brian Cookson, president of the International Cycling Union, called them 'unacceptable by any standards of decency'.

But speaking at a press conference, the kit's designer Angie Rojas said that to her comfort was all that mattered.

"If we are the ones using it, and if the uniform is comfortable, and it has all the technical specifications that we need to race, because I think that when pedalling for three hours, some 130 to 150 kilometres, the only thing one thinks about is comfort rather than colours," she said.

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Sponsor representative Alvaro Giraldo also defended the uniform.

"There is nothing indecent or improper in this design. It is an issue more of interpretation, although unfortunately we have the case of an unfortunate photograph taken with the technical characteristics (low-quality camera) that Doctor Ferreira mentioned, and this has generated an impressive wave. I think we should not change the uniform, at least not soon."

Despite the backlash received, the Colombian Cycling Federation has said the team will continue to sport their current kits at least until the season's end.