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In an effort to boost bicycling in U.S. cities, two bike industry leaders are giving a handful of Latino elected officials a free trip to Seville, Spain. And your organization could play a key role in determining who gets the ticket.

Next March, Seville will play host to Velo-City 2011, the premiere international conference on bicycling. Given the unique opportunities for Spanish speakers, SRAM and Bikes Belong are offering as many as 12 scholarships to Latino officials from the U.S. to take advantage of the conference and the common language to fully immerse themselves in Seville’s impressive cycling transformation.

To be eligible, officials must have a demonstrated interest in or connection to bicycling and sustainable transportation. Now, here’s where you come in: Applicants who are nominated or recommended by a local bicycling business or advocacy organization will get a significant leg up. Is there a Latino official on your city council or in your state legislature who supports bicycling and would benefit from a one-of-a-kind, educational and inspirational trip to Spain’s biking capital? If so, make sure you download the nomination form.

Adolfo Hernandez, advocacy director for the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago, is working with SRAM and Bikes Belong to promote the opportunity and review the applications. He says the example set by Seville could make a huge difference back home in your community.

“Seville’s transformation into a bicycling city is nothing short of amazing,” Adolfo says. “In less than four years, 120 kilometers of separated bike lanes and a robust bike share program have multiplied the number of trips by bicycle from 0.6 percent to 6.6 percent of all trips. In large part these changes came about because of great advocates and elected officials who support bicycling. Removing lanes of traffic and parking for automobiles is not easy to do anywhere, but elected officials and city leaders in Seville have pushed forward with great success and have transformed Seville into a cycling city.”

“We will introduce our Latin American elected officials to Seville’s elected officials in meetings, tours and workshops designed to highlight the benefits that the city has experienced,” he adds. “Our elected officials will have an opportunity to hear firsthand from their Seville peers about the challenges, successes and political impact of the city’s commitment to increase the levels of bicycling. Our hope is that elected officials return with a sense of how quickly change can come about and ideas about how to transform our American cities in cycling cities.”

The deadline for applications is January 14th, 5 p.m., EST. But don’t wait. There’s a benefit to being first in line — some of the scholarships will be awarded early.

Click here for the full scholarship packet. Questions? Get in touch with .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).