Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson

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.