Cycling books

Is this the book you are referencing?

A definitive account of Tom Simpson, one of the sport’s greatest cyclists

Tom Simpson was an Olympic medalist, a world champion cyclist, 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, and fans continue to make the pilgrimage to the windswept memorial that 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 his obsessive will to win, which ultimately cost him his life. This book will revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain’s greatest ever cyclist.

Kinda, yes! It’s claimed to be what Tom Simpson said at the time (hence the title, I guess), but I believe they were actually made up by a reporter.

I hadn’t heard of him before, sounds like a great story! I’ll have to add this to my reading list.

It’s a sad story, but one of those that feeds into the romance of cycling as a sport and illustrates the drive and passion of its hard men. He has a memorial on Mont Ventoux at the point where he collapsed.

I love reading about cycling, what other book recommendations do you guys have?

There are loads of great cycling books, I think. A lot cover drugs and doping, mind… :smiley:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Marco-Pantani-Biography/dp/1474600778

I dare say we’ve digressed from my original bug report… =)

1 Like

I recently read both of Phil Gaimon’s Books, they were fun, he has a good sense of humor!

And a while ago, Bike Snob

1 Like

@Eric_Schlange_ZI must have seen our post @Daren :joy:

1 Like

I didn’t! But I think we’re all doing more reading these days… :slight_smile:

3 Likes