Julian Alaphilippe's stunning new rainbow stripe Tarmac SL7; Sadiq Khan responds to our bunny hop claim using VAR; A63 cycling protester; Prince Louis rides Frog balance bike on third birthday; Simon Yates wins Tour of the Alps + more on the live blog

Lizard Skin has released these new Earth Tone DSP tapes to add some subtle colour to your ride. These certainly look the business if your riding takes you off-road and down some muddy trails. The earthy tones take Lizard Skin's colour choices to 15, so they believe there is something for everyone. The Earth Tone DSP comes with all the durability and grippy feel of the other DSP colours and is the tape of choice for WorldTour teams Lotto-Soudal and Movistar. Although, to be fair, I doubt they go for chocolate brown or olive green... 

PRiDE OUT, the largest network of LGBTQ+ cyclists in the UK, believes British Cycling's trans policy needs to better "recognise there are human experiences behind the scenes of any consultation." The group emphasised it is vital that trans people are treated with the same dignity and respect as other riders and should be engaged with.

From the feedback it has received so far, PRiDE OUT says there is an overwhelming demand to see more inclusion in cycling. Additionaly, the group called on British Cycling to align with the UCI's guidelines requiring events below National Championship level to "have less stringent eligibility requirements" for any trans person wishing to compete.

"When I came out as trans 6 months ago, I felt an immense weight being lifted off my shoulders," Emily Bridges, a former GB senior academy cyclist, said. "I got so much support and love, but I also got the expected hate, too. This vitriol is currently the norm for every trans person, every day of their life. Anti-trans groups aim to legislate us out of existence, drag us over social media, and spread lies about who we are and what we stand for. They try to ban us from sports based on flawed science and lies."

Wow, wow, wow 😍@iamspecialized has designed a stunning new rainbow stripe Tarmac SL 7, which @alafpolak1 will ride for the Spring’s final Monument - Liège-Bastogne-Liège - and the rest of the season! pic.twitter.com/rJOwA7GPyi

— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) April 23, 2021

What a beauty. Definitely one of the top perks of being world champion...Fresh off his Flèche Wallonne win on Wednesday, Julian Alaphilippe has got his hands on his brand new Specialized Tarmac SL7 with rainbow stipes. Is it the best bike in the peloton?

Julian will debut it at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday where it could give him the extra edge to claim his first La Doyenne crown. This really is all about that fresh paint job, but for a closer look at his full set up, check out our Bike at Bedtime last month where we went for a deep dive into the world champ's bike...

Third GC title for Simon Yates. Vuelta a España 2018, Tirreno-Adriatico 2020 and Tour of the Alps 2021. Adam Yates with 4 GC wins. #TotA pic.twitter.com/pyO8voFJm4

— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) April 23, 2021

Bora-hansgrohe's Felix Großschartner attacked solo on the final climb to win stage five of the Tour of the Alps. Nicolas Roche and Alessandro De Marchi also survived from the breakaway until the end to secure second and third.

Team BikeExchange Brit Simon Yates finished comfortably in the pack, securing his overall victory and putting down a statement win ahead of next month's Giro d'Italia. Yates took control of the race with his stage victory on Tuesday and wins the leader's jersey by 58 seconds from yesterday's stage winner Pello Bilbao. Yates' Giro rival, Astana climber Aleksandr Vlasov was third, 1:06 behind.

The Voxwomen Big Day Out in partnership with dhb aims to enable women to enjoy the sports they love by bringing like-minded people together for one big day of celebrating cycling. Taking place on Sunday 13 June and based at the New Park Manor Hotel, the event includes a Q&A session, a group ride in the New Forest at a social cafe ride pace and some breakout group chats afterwards. What's more, there are 30 free places for lucky winners of the ballot. dhb has also designed a jersey from their Moda collection that attendees will get along with plenty of other products and goodies.

pic.twitter.com/0SbGOGUzj9

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 23, 2021

That's us told...Was there a clear and obvious error? The Mayor of London thought so, and he roped in the help of the VAR at Stockley Park for proof. After all, you can't argue with the lines...

The referee has been called over to the monitor. He is going to take another look. "Yep, just rewind that bit there for me." What is he going to give? He is running back onto the pitch, blows his whistle, makes the VAR sign and points to the spot. He has given it, it is a bunny hop after all...

Tony's not convinced...

Not happy with where they've drawn the lines there... 😁

— Tony (@pheadtony) April 23, 2021

Testa della Corsa #TotA 🚴🏻‍♂️💨@Tourof_TheAlps
📸 @bettiniphoto pic.twitter.com/piTgosOIfS

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) April 22, 2021

Chris Froome in a breakaway is a rare sight for cycling fans. For all the hours we have seen him sat patiently at the end of a Sky train in the mountains, we have rarely seen him up the road. After yesterday's stage, Froome said he was happy with how his condition is improving ahead of his main goal, the Tour de France, in July.

"I think this was the first time I have been in a breakaway since the Giro d’Italia of 2018," he said. "I really enjoyed being up there today, testing the legs a bit. Especially as the break went away on a quite hard section after a bunch of attacks.

"It was a shame that we never got much of a gap, but it was still a good experience to be up there again. I can feel that the condition is slowly improving and I’m pretty happy with how the legs are feeling."

Simon Yates, who Froome took the maglia rosa from after that long-range attack at the 2018 Giro, has one more day and a 58 second advantage to defend his race lead in the Alps. Stage five takes in five mountains before another downhill finish.