The ten titles which make up the shortlist for the second annual SweetSpot Cycling Book of the Year award have today been announced.

The announcement follows a hugely successful year for cycling in the UK with the first ever Friends Life Women’s Tour in May, the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in July and what was widely acclaimed to be the best ever edition of the Friends Life Tour of Britain in September among the highlights.

With titles on subjects ranging from this Summer’s Tour de France to the 1914 Giro d’Italia, via the story of cycling behind the Iron Curtain and the compelling autobiography of an Olympic Champion, the ten book shortlist reflects another varied and strong year for cycling literature.

The range of authors on the shortlist is also similarly varied, from ITV’s cycling presenter Ned Boulting to World, Olympic and Commonwealth Champion Nicole Cooke, via travel writer Tim Moore and former rider turned journalist and podcast host Richard Moore.

A panel of judges selected the titles for the shortlist, with the Award being decided by a public vote held during January, which will also gives voters their chance to win copies of the nominated books.

The full shortlist is as follows:

•    101 Damnations – Dispatches from the 101st Tour de France. Ned Boulting. Yellow Jersey.
•    Etape – the untold stories of the Tour de  France’s defining stages. Richard Moore. Harper Sport.
•    Faster: The obsession, science and luck behind the world’s fastest cyclists. Michael Hutchinson. Bloomsbury.
•    Gironimo! Riding the very terrible 1914 Tour of Italy. Tim Moore. Yellow Jersey.
•    Lanterne Rouge – the last man in the Tour de France. Max Leonard. Yellow Jersey.
•    The Monuments – the grit and glory of cycling’s greatest one-day races. Peter Cossins. Bloomsbury.
•    The Breakaway. Nicole Cooke. Simon and Schuster.
•    The Race Against the Stasi. Herbie Sykes. Aurum Press.
•    The Race to Truth. Emma O’Reilly. Bantam Press
•    Two Days in Yorkshire. Various. Pan Y Agua Velo Europe Ltd.

The award was launched in 2013, with Domestique, Charly Wegelius’ tale of the behind the scenes life of a pro-cyclist, written in conjunction with fellow former rider Tom Southam, being voted the winning title in year one.

It’s All About The Bike, the autobiography of Sean Yates came second, with Ned Boulting’s On the Road Bike: The Search for a Nation’s Cycling Soul coming third.

To discover more about the Award, find out about the shortlisted titles including links to full reviews, and to vote, please visit www.sweetspotgroup.co.uk/ 

Voting will open on Thursday 1st January and close at the end of the month, with the winning author being announced in the following weeks, along with details of their prize and a brand new annual trophy.