Tom Simpson

Cyclist

Birthday November 30, 1937

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Haswell, County Durham, England

DEATH DATE 1967, Mont Ventoux, Vaucluse, France (30 years old)

Height 1.81m

Weight 69 kg

#61070 Most Popular

1937

Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists.

He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire.

Simpson began road cycling as a teenager before taking up track cycling, specialising in pursuit races.

Simpson was born on 30 November 1937 in Haswell, County Durham, the youngest of six children of coal miner Tom Simpson and his wife Alice (née Cheetham).

His father had been a semi-professional sprinter in athletics.

1943

The family lived modestly in a small terraced house until 1943, when his parents took charge of the village's working men's club and lived above it.

1950

In 1950 the Simpsons moved to Harworth on the Nottinghamshire–Yorkshire border, where young Simpson's maternal aunt lived; new coalfields were opening, with employment opportunities for him and older brother Harry, by now, the only children left at home.

Simpson rode his first bike, his brother-in-law's, at age 12, sharing it with Harry and two cousins for time trials around Harworth.

Following Harry, Tom joined Harworth & District CC (Cycling Club) aged 13.

He delivered groceries in the Bassetlaw district by bicycle and traded with a customer for a better road bike.

He was often left behind in club races; members of his cycling club nicknamed him "four-stone Coppi", after Italian rider Fausto Coppi, due to his slim physique.

Simpson began winning club time trials, but sensed resentment of his boasting from senior members.

1954

He left Harworth & District and joined Rotherham's Scala Wheelers at the end of 1954.

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.

1955

In May 1955 Simpson won the National Cyclists' Union South Yorkshire individual pursuit track event as a junior; the same year, he won the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC) junior hill climb championship and placed third in the senior event.

Simpson immersed himself in the world of cycling, writing letters asking for advice.

Naturalised Austrian rider George Berger responded, travelling from London to Harworth to help him with his riding position.

In late 1955, Simpson ran a red light in a race and was suspended from racing for six months by the BLRC.

During his suspension he dabbled in motorcycle trials, nearly quitting cycling but unable to afford a new motorcycle necessary for progress in the sport.

Berger told Simpson that if he wanted to be a successful road cyclist, he needed experience in track cycling, particularly in the pursuit discipline.

1956

He won a bronze medal for track cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics and a silver at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

Simpson competed regularly at Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester, where in early 1956 he met amateur world pursuit silver medallist Cyril Cartwright, who helped him develop his technique.

At the national championships at Fallowfield the 18-year-old Simpson won a silver medal in the individual pursuit, defeating amateur world champion Norman Sheil before losing to Mike Gambrill.

Simpson began working with his father as a draughtsman at the glass factory in Harworth.

He was riding well; although not selected by Great Britain for the amateur world championships, he made the 4,000-metre team pursuit squad for the 1956 Olympics.

1959

In 1959, at age 21, Simpson was signed by the French professional road-racing team.

1961

He advanced to their first team the following year, and won the 1961 Tour of Flanders.

1962

Simpson then joined ; in the 1962 Tour de France he became the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey, finishing sixth overall.

1963

In 1963 Simpson moved to, winning Bordeaux–Paris that year and the 1964 Milan–San Remo.

1965

In 1965 he became Britain's first professional world road race champion and won the Giro di Lombardia; this made him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the first cyclist to win the award.

1966

Injuries hampered much of Simpson's 1966 season.

1967

He won two stages of the 1967 Vuelta a España before he won the general classification of Paris–Nice that year.

In the thirteenth stage of the 1967 Tour de France, Simpson collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux.

He was 29 years old.

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 fans for his character and will to win.