The day began in Marseille with Roger Pingeon in yellow. It
was hot. Colin Lewis of the British team said, "Nobody who
wasn't there that day could imagine how hot it was."
Tom Simpson was the leader of that British team. He was a
former World Champion and the first British rider to wear
the yellow jersey. He was sitting in 7th place.
The stage went to Carpentras over Mont Ventoux. Simpson
was one of the first riders out of the trees and onto the
exposed slope. He weakened near the top, and he was left
behind by the leading group. He started weaving across
the road. Eventually he fell over, and abandoned the Tour.
There were three tubes in his jersey pockets. One contained
amphetamines. The other two were empty.
There are several routes from which to approach the mountain.
Probably the least traveled is the way from Sault to the
southeast. If you go that way you will pass through lavender
fields, and you will see lavender growing on the lower slopes
of the mountain. If you are fortunate enough to experience
freshly harvested lavender you will think that this is a
place of exceptional peace and beauty.
The place where Simpson fell is hard. It is dry, windswept,
barren. Lavender does not grow there.
I would like to think that Simpson's spirit, once freed from
the pressures that destroyed him, went down the mountain to
lie for a while in a field of lavender.
Bob Schwartz
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