Thomas Simpson was one of Britain’s most successful professional cyclists. He won a bronze medal for track cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics and a silver at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In the 1962 Tour de France he became the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey. In 1965 he became Britain’s first world road race champion and won the Giro di Lombardia. In 1967 he collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux. Simpson was known to have taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career.
About Tom Simpson in brief
Thomas Simpson was one of Britain’s most successful professional cyclists. He won a bronze medal for track cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics and a silver at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In the 1962 Tour de France he became the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey. In 1965 he became Britain’s first world road race champion and won the Giro di Lombardia; this made him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In 1967 he collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux. The post-mortem examination found that he had mixed amphetamines and alcohol; this diuretic combination proved fatal when combined with the heat, the hard climb of the Ventoux and a stomach complaint. A memorial near where he died has become a place of pilgrimage for many cyclists. Simpson was known to have taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career, when no doping controls existed. He is held in high esteem by many cyclists for his character and will to win. Simpson’s first road race was as a junior at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham. After leaving school he was an apprentice draughtsman at an engineering company in Retford, using the 10 mi commute by bike as training. He placed well in half mile races on grass and cement, but decided to concentrate on road racing. In late 1955 Simpson ran a red light in a red race and was suspended from racing for six months by the BLRC.
At 18-year-old Simpson won a silver medal in the individual pursuit competition at Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester, defeating amateur world champion Norman Sheil. In early 1956 he met amateur world medallist Cyril Cartilwright, who helped him develop his technique. He also won the British League of Racing Cyclists junior hill climb championship and placed third in the senior event. In 1959, at age 21, Simpson was signed by the French professional road-racing team Saint-Raphaël–R. Geminiani–Dunlop. In 1963 Simpson moved to Peugeot–BP–Englebert, winning Bordeaux–Paris that year and the 1964 Milan–San Remo. In 1966 he won two stages of the 1967 Vuelta a España before he won the general classification of Paris–Nice that year. He was the first cyclist to win the BBC Sport Personality of The Year award. In May 1955 Simpson won the National Cyclists’ Union South Yorkshire individual pursuit track event as a. junior. Simpson joined Harworth & District CC aged 13. He delivered groceries in the Bassetlaw district by bicycle and traded with a customer for a better road bike. He began winning club time trials, but sensed resentment of his boasting from senior members. In 1954 he joined Rotherham’s Scala Wheelers at the end of 1954. He left Harworth and joined the Scala Wheelers in 1956. In 1957 he joined the Harworth Cycling Club, where he became a club member.
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