Still time to enter: Velobici writing competition

There's still time to enter the Velobici writing competition, so if you've got a cold, rainy summer day to spare, why not sit down and pen an ode to your favourite bike, race or ride?

The all-British designed and manufactured road wear company has put some great prizes up for grabs, including jerseys, shorts, scarf and gloves, and there are even women-specific prizes too.

Entries must be a maximum of 1,000 words, and the competition closes on the 17th August.

Chris Puttnam of Velobici said: “The cycling world has a wealth of writing talent and we thought after all this year’s success in all riding disciplines that there are some inspirational stories to be told.

"We have 3 categories: The Bike, The Race and The Ride, so your story doesn’t have to be about professional racing. It can be about your own rides, your own memories”

The six judges are Chris Puttnam, founder of Velobici; Adrian Bell of Mousehold Press; Matt Rendell, cycling author and journalist; David Harmon, Eurosport’s lead English language commentator; Matt Stephens, 1998 British Road Race champion and pro rider between 1998 and 2011 and Andy Ward, cycling doctor and writer.

Two judges will preside over each category, submitting their favourite two to a ‘grand final’ where all the judges will decide on the three ultimate winners.

The winner of the Race category will receive a set of the new road wear, a choice of Van Abel or Van Dapper (Jersey & shorts); winner of the Bike category will win a choice of a Classic Bob Maitland or Tommy Godwin jersey, and the winner of the Ride category will win a Lombardy Classic Cardigan with matching Seamless Merino Scarf and Gloves.

For female winners, there's a set of Ella Paris or Ella Nice as well as a set of Velobici’s soon-to-be-released women’s wear, a technical vest and briefs. Each winner will receive a copy of the latest publication from Mousehold Press and all three finalists will also be recorded by commentator David Harmon and made available as a podcast on the Velobici website.

Email your entry to info [at] velobici.com before 10pm on Friday 17 August, with the category you are entering in the subject field.

Full competition rules have been posted on the Velobici website.