How the British became so successful at the Tour de France

Ten years on from when Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, Mick O’Hare looks back to Tom Simpson, the first Brit to ever wear the yellow jersey

From the first wearer to the first winner, the British have come to expect success at the Tour de France (Getty/The Independent)

If the average British sports fan knows anything at all about Tom Simpson it’s that he died riding his bike. Ascending the notorious Mont Ventoux in the 1967 Tour de France, he collapsed. That year he was among the favourites for overall victory, the first Briton so heralded. But as the Tour entered its second week Simpson fell ill with diarrhoea. He laboured on. The 13th stage of the race, on 13 July, tackled the 1,909m peak of Ventoux. It was stiflingly hot.

Back in 1967 drugs were commonplace in professional cycling – only officially been banned on the Tour in 1965 – with amphetamine, known for its ability to allow athletes to push their bodies beyond normal limits, the medication of choice. The morning of Simpson’s death, Tour doctor and anti-drug campaigner, Pierre Dumas, had warned cyclists of the dangers of using amphetamine in the extreme heat. As the climb began Simpson fell away from the leading group. The footage of what then happened makes for painful viewing. He began riding erratically, his bike zig-zagging across the road. A kilometre from the summit he fell. His team and spectators rushed to help, suggesting he retire from the race. “Put me back on my bike,” Simpson insisted.

After another half kilometre, a group of spectators grabbed him to stop him from falling again. They carried him to the roadside, unconscious. The medical team gave him mouth-to-mouth and cardiac massage as Dumas arrived with oxygen. It was all too late. The autopsy discovered alcohol (courtesy of a slug of brandy at the foot of Ventoux) and amphetamine in his system and concluded he died of heart failure brought on by heat exhaustion, illness and drug abuse.