The ten titles which make up the shortlist for the second annual SweetSpot Cycling Book of the Year award have today been announced.
![]() |
News – SweetSpot Cycling Book of the Year
NOTE: Send your results as well as club, team & event news here
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/bookaward
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.
Send your results as well as club, team & event news here
Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)
- Features, Reports, Results
- News: GP Jean-Pierre Monseré
- News: Paris-Nice Stage 1
- News: GP Industria & Artigianato
- Strade Bianche: Van der Poel Untouchable
- New! Ribble Ultra Tri Disc
- Trofeo Laigueglia: Day out front for Archibald
- Trofeo Laigueglia: Win for Mollema
- Deceuninck – Quick-Step to Paris-Nice
- Wout van Aert getting back into form
- Next Sunday: Paris-Nice is Back
- Q&A: Domini Radway-Fatuga (16)
- Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Win for Mads Pedersen
- Drôme Classic: Solo triumph for Andrea Bagioli
- Hannah Barnes 5th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- News: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2021 (Men)
- UAE Tour: Final Stage (7)
- UAE Tour: Stage 6 – Win for Bennett
- Feature Interview: Jack Rees (Ribble Weldtite)
- UAE Tour: Stage 5
- Giro: Simon Yates Fights for Pink
- Giro 2021: Mollema, Ciccone and Nibali Reactions
- CAMS-Tifosi for Healthy Ageing Tour 2021
- UAE Tour: Stage 4
- News: New Head of Creative at Ribble Cycles
- UAE Tour: Stage 3
- News: Cavendish for Le Samyn
- Interview: John Archibald
- This weekend: Deceuninck – Quick-Step
- 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné Route
- UAE Tour – Stage 2 Time Trial
- Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var: Stage 3
- UAE Tour: First win to Mathieu van der Poel
- Central Region Junior RR Team Manager
- Tour Du Var – Stage 2
- Team News: Win for Mollema at Haut Var
- News: Tour Du Var – Stage 1
- News: Elite Status Changes
- News: Deceuninck – Quick-Step to UAE Tour
- Feature Interview: Alexandar Richardson (Alpecin-Fenix)
- News: Quintana Back Racing
Other News on VeloUK
- News: GP Jean-Pierre Monseré
- News: Paris-Nice Stage 1
- News: GP Industria & Artigianato
- Strade Bianche: Van der Poel Untouchable
- New! Ribble Ultra Tri Disc
- Trofeo Laigueglia: Day out front for Archibald
- Trofeo Laigueglia: Win for Mollema
- Deceuninck – Quick-Step to Paris-Nice
- Wout van Aert getting back into form
- Next Sunday: Paris-Nice is Back
- Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Win for Mads Pedersen
- Drôme Classic: Solo triumph for Andrea Bagioli
- Hannah Barnes 5th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- News: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2021 (Men)
- UAE Tour: Final Stage (7)
- UAE Tour: Stage 6 – Win for Bennett
- UAE Tour: Stage 5
- Giro: Simon Yates Fights for Pink
- Giro 2021: Mollema, Ciccone and Nibali Reactions
- CAMS-Tifosi for Healthy Ageing Tour 2021
- UAE Tour: Stage 4
- News: New Head of Creative at Ribble Cycles
- UAE Tour: Stage 3
- News: Cavendish for Le Samyn
- Interview: John Archibald
- This weekend: Deceuninck – Quick-Step
- 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné Route
- UAE Tour – Stage 2 Time Trial
- Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var: Stage 3
- UAE Tour: First win to Mathieu van der Poel
- Central Region Junior RR Team Manager
- Tour Du Var – Stage 2
- Team News: Win for Mollema at Haut Var
- News: Tour Du Var – Stage 1
- News: Elite Status Changes
- News: Deceuninck – Quick-Step to UAE Tour
- News: Quintana Back Racing
- News: UAE Tour: Provisional Riders List
- News: Wout van Aert Training in Tenerife
- News: Quickstep off to Spain to train