Local history

Tommy wearing the Tour's yellow jersey

Tommy Simpson grew up in Harworth in north Nottinghamshire in the 1940s.

From an early age he developed a passion for cycling and joined the Harworth and District cycling club.

As a teenager he won local time trials and was part of the British team which won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

Le Tour

During the 1962 Tour de France, Tommy became the first Briton to wear the yellow jersey, after stage 12. He finished sixth overall.

Tommy had successes in road races all over Europe but it was the Tour De France that he wanted to win the most.

Tommy Simpson in 1964 during the Tour De France

In 1967, Tommy was sixth after the first week. However, he contracted a stomach bug which affected his form.

In those early days of Le Tour riders were restricted to the amount of water they could consume and on the morning of a scorching day in Provence, the tour doctor warned there could be a death.

Death

As Tommy climbed Mont Ventoux he began to wobble, cycling from side to side close to the edge on the road.

Other riders offered him a drink but he didn't respond, they said he had a vacant look on his face.

A nurse gives mouth to mouth respiration to Tommy

Minutes later Tommy fell off his bike, spectators picked him up and he travelled a further 300 metres until he fell again and then lost consciousness.

He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and his heart was massaged. However, Tommy wasn't breathing even with an oxygen mask.

A police helicopter took Tommy to the St. Marthe hospital at Avignon but he was declared dead soon after arrival.

Amphetamines

Two tubes of amphetamines, as well as an empty tube, were found in a pocket of Tommy's jersey.

Five days later an autopsy confirmed that Tommy did have traces of the drug in his body.

Tom Simpson Memorial at Mont Ventoux

However, the official cause of death was a heart attack and as Harry Hall, Tommy's mechanic, commented, "The drugs didn't kill Tom. Tom killed himself."

Tommy was buried in Harworth after a service at the church in the village.

A monument dedicated to Tommy can be found at Mont Ventoux where cyclists from all over the world leave tributes to him.