The programme for the third annual Edinburgh Festival of Cycling launched today and it is shaping up to be a cracker.

Taking place from June 11-21, this year's event will shine the spotlight firmly on inspirational women in cycling.

Among the highlights is the Scottish premiere of Inspired to Ride, a film about the Trans Am Bike Race which features Juliana Buhring, the first woman to cycle around the world.

Author Tamara von Werthern will talk about her play, The White Bike, which was inspired by the death of Eilidh Cairns from Northumberland, who died aged 30 after being run over by a lorry as she cycled to work in London six years ago.

Shannon Galpin, a campaigner and activist who is using cycling to champion women's rights in Afghanistan, and Emily Chappell, who has cycled across Asia and Iceland and just returned from riding from Anchorage to Seattle, will also feature.

The Women's Cycle Forum returns for a second year promising an evening of discussion, inspiration and networking.

Other events will include the inaugural Capital Trail, a self-supported mountain bike adventure ride devised by Edinburgh-based cyclist Markus Stitz and covering 237km (147 miles) through the stunning landscapes and remote trails of southern Scotland.

There will also be the third Original Edinburgh Night Ride, a magical mystery tour by bike from the capital to East Lothian. Testament to its popularity, the event has sold out the past two years running.

The programme for the 2015 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling was officially unveiled by Commonwealth Games double silver medallist Louise Haston and Scottish elite mountain biker Kerry MacPhee alongside 150 pupils from Sciennes Primary School.

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