Product Description

Tom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death on the barren moonscape of the Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour. Forty years on, hundreds of fans still make the pilgrimage to the windswept memorial which marks the spot where he died. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper "Major Tom" inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. This new edition of William Fotheringham's classic biography, published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of Simpson's death, features a preface and final chapter featuring further revelations about Simpson's life and death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12297 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

The Times
'a marvellous biography'

London Review of Books
'Weaves together vivid accounts of (Simpson's) races with interviews with those who knew him, and witnessed his final, fatal climb.'

About the Author
William Fotheringham writes for the Guardian and Observer on cycling and rugby. A former racing cyclist and launch editor of procycling and Cycle Sport magazines, he has reported on sixteen Tours de France as well as Six Nations rugby and the Olympic Games. He lives in Herefordshire with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Tragic and moving read ...
Having been a fan of cycling since I can remember, the story of the alleged drug taking British cyclist who died in 1967 has always fascinated me. This book was a recommended read by a fellow cycling enthusiast who assured me it was not a book that made assumptions. I am so glad I've read it as the author is fair in every aspect of the history of this amazing man, Tom Simpson. Yes he did take drugs but so did all the other cyclists. It was almost part of the way of competitive life then that one was left with no doubts that in order to complete the Tour it would be impossible to achieve without 'enhancing' drugs. I have visited the memorial stone where Tom died on Ventoux and have seen for myself how fans young and old feel a need to leave something there as a gesture yet the book describes this in such a wonderfully descriptive way that if fans never have the chance to go, the book will be a very good substitute. My admiration goes to William Fotheringham who has covered a delicate subject so well - I only wish and hope that the bad press that has surrounded this great man's death is one day put completely behind so that we can then celebrate what Tom achieved by being Britain's greatest ever cyclist.

fallen hero
I have mixed feelings about this book. As an aspiring club and racing cyclist in the sixties Tom Simpson was a boyhood hero for me. Having left the sport shortly after his death I have somehow managed, in the intervening years, to remain in blissful ignorance of the real detailed storey behind his death, other than the fact, that drugs may have played some part in his untimely death. I thus found this book immensely sad and moving.

On reflection I suppose I am glad I have finally heard what would appear to be the full storey. I still greatly admire Tom for his talent and his utter determination to get where he wanted to be, but time has taught me that hero's are something else, mainly unheard of nameless people who dedicate their life to maybe a disabled relative or others in need, often not through choice, but duty.

Because this book tells you the full storey of Tom's short life, in a sympathetic, clear, and in an absorbingly interesting unbiased way without being judgemental, I would recommend it to any cyclist or anyone else interested in sport in general.

I did not give it five stars for one simple reason, my personal preference is that a book should be progressive in the time frame it covers and this book tended to be constructed in a series of stories. However the content is excellent and engrossing and this is just a small point. Perhaps I am being picky.

The ultimate sporting legend...
It is hard to be triumphant about a book which is centered on a tragedy - the death of Tom Simpson while struggling up Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France. However you look at the accident - naievity, drug abuse, a willful disregard of safety, someone attempting to do what was expected and asked of him, the need to succeed at all costs or the fear of failure; his death remains a tragedy.

As with Princess Diana, it was his death which defined the life of Simpson, and leaves behind big questions - what price the spectacle (the media/) we demand from our sporting heroes, and drug-use in sport.

Like a detective, the author has pieced together the life of Simpson from records and eye-witness accounts. It is done with respect, but unlike others who would prefer to gloss over certain facts this feels like a well-balanced account. There is no denying the truth is uncomfortable, but then the lies and cover-ups have fueled a controversy less than dignified.

The events of the day are first covered in detail in Chapter 2, so I am not sure what sequence the book follows, if any. In fact the chapters could be read at random without any great loss. (I am not sure if this amounts to a criticism or not, certainly not a major one!) Between chapters are short press extracts recording some of Simpson's better days - they give a sense of just how extraordinary an athlete Simpson was and the kind of hero-worship he engendered.