PUT ME BACK ON MY BIKE: IN SEARCH OF TOM SIMPSON
by William Fotheringham
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. Almost 40 years later, 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 is an authoritative evaluation of Simpson's death, and of the life
that led to it, revisiting the places and people associated with him.
Available from Amazon.co.uk at the following tinyURL:
MR. TOM: THE TRUE STORY OF TOM SIMPSON
by Chris Sidwells
Written by Simpson's nephew (and noted cycling writer) Chris Sidwells,
this book revisits Tom Simpson's life and death from the family
perspective. This book provided an interesting counterpoint to
Fotheringham's book (above), and serves more as a memorial to Simpson's
life, than to his tragic death on the Ventoux 38 years ago.
Available from Amazon.co.uk at the following tinyURL: