Editing Tom Simpson

{{Short description|British cyclist (1937–1967)}}
{{Other people|Tom Simpson}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox cyclist
 | name           = Tom Simpson
 | image          = Tom Simpson c1966.jpg
 | caption        = Simpson {{circa|1966}}
 | alt            = Tom Simpson wearing a white cycling jersey with horizontal rainbow stripes across the body
 | fullname       = Thomas Simpson
 | nickname       = Major Simpson
 | birth_date     = {{Birth date|1937|11|30|df=yes}}
 | death_date     = {{Death date and age|1967|7|13|1937|11|30|df=yes}}
 | birth_place    = [[Haswell, County Durham]], England
 | death_place    = [[Mont Ventoux]], [[Vaucluse]], France
 | height         = {{height|m=1.81}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=229}}
 | weight         = {{convert|69|kg|lb stlb|0|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=229}}
 | discipline     = Road and track
 | role           = Rider
 | ridertype      = [[Glossary of cycling#all-rounder|All-rounder]]
 | amateuryears1  = –
 | amateurteam1   = Harworth & District CC
 | amateuryears2  = –
 | amateurteam2   = Scala Wheelers
 | amateuryears3  = –
 | amateurteam3   = [[:fr:Club olympique briochin|Club Olympique Briochin]]
 | amateuryears4  = –
 | amateurteam4   = Gentse Wielersport
 | amateuryears5  = –
 | amateurteam5   = Saint-Raphaël VC 12e
 | proyears1      = 1959
 | proteam1       = {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1959}}
 | proyears2      = 1960–1961
 | proteam2       = {{UCI team code|Rapha|1960}}
 | proyears3      = 1962
 | proteam3       = {{UCI team code|Alcyon|1962}}
 | proyears4      = 1963–1967
 | proteam4       = {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1963}}
 | majorwins      = '''[[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tours]]'''
:'''[[Vuelta a España]]'''
::2 individual stages ([[1967 Vuelta a España|1967]])
'''[[Race stage|Stage races]]'''
:[[Paris–Nice]] ([[1967 Paris–Nice|1967]])
'''[[Classic cycle races|One-day and classic races]]'''
:[[UCI Road World Championships|World Road Race Championships]] ([[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|1965]])
:[[Tour of Flanders]] ([[1961 Tour of Flanders|1961]])
:[[Bordeaux–Paris]] (1963)
:[[Milan–San Remo]] ([[1964 Milan–San Remo|1964]])
:[[Giro di Lombardia]] ([[1965 Giro di Lombardia|1965]])
 | medaltemplates =  
{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[road bicycle racing]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[UCI Road World Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1965 UCI Road World Championships|1965 San Sebastián]]|[[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]]|[[Cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit|Team pursuit]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{ENG}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games|British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1958 Cardiff]]|[[Cycling at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's individual pursuit|Individual pursuit]]}}
 | show-medals    = yes
}}
'''Thomas Simpson''' (30 November 1937&nbsp;– 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional [[Cycle sport|cyclists]]. He was born in [[Haswell, County Durham]], and later moved to [[Harworth]], Nottinghamshire. Simpson began [[road bicycle racing|road cycling]] as a teenager before taking up [[track cycling]], specialising in [[Pursuit racing|pursuit races]]. He won a bronze medal for track cycling at the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] and a silver at the [[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]].

In 1959, at age 21, Simpson was signed by the French professional [[Road bicycle racing|road-racing]] team {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1959}}. He advanced to their first team ({{UCI team code|Rapha|1960}}) the following year, and won the [[1961 Tour of Flanders]]. Simpson then joined {{UCI team code|Alcyon|1962}}; in the [[1962 Tour de France]] he became the first British rider to wear the [[General classification in the Tour de France|yellow jersey]], finishing sixth overall.

In 1963 Simpson moved to {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1963}}, winning [[Bordeaux–Paris]] that year and the [[1964 Milan–San Remo]]. In 1965 he became Britain's first [[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|professional world road race champion]] and won the [[1965 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]; this made him the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award|BBC Sports Personality of the Year]], the first cyclist to win the award. Injuries hampered much of Simpson's 1966 season. He won two stages of the [[1967 Vuelta a España]] before he won the [[general classification]] of [[1967 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]] that year.

In the thirteenth stage of the [[1967 Tour de France]], Simpson collapsed and died during the ascent of [[Mont Ventoux]]. He was 29 years old. The post-mortem examination found that he had mixed amphetamines and alcohol; this diuretic combination proved fatal when combined with the heat, the hard climb of the Ventoux and a stomach complaint. A memorial near where he died has become a place of [[pilgrimage]] for many cyclists. Simpson was known to have taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career, when no doping controls existed. He is held in high esteem by many fans for his character and will to win.

==Early life and amateur career==

===Childhood and club racing===
{{Location map+|England|relief=yes|width=170|float=left|alt=Map of England with marks showing location of Haswell and Harworth|caption=At age 12, Simpson moved from [[Haswell, County Durham]], to [[Harworth]] on the Nottinghamshire–Yorkshire border.|places={{Location map~|England|label=Haswell|lat=54.7834|long=-1.4177|position=right}}{{Location map~|England|label=Harworth|lat=53.417|long=-1.075|position=bottom}}}}
Simpson was born on 30 November 1937 in [[Haswell, County Durham]], the youngest of six children of [[Coal mining|coal miner]] Tom Simpson and his wife Alice (née Cheetham).<ref>{{cite web|title=Index entry|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=5Zh%2BA5fY2GgCz9TqtJBGHQ&scan=1|work=[[FreeBMD]]|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]]|location=Newport, UK|access-date=13 May 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=15}} His father had been a semi-professional [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]] in athletics.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=45}} The family lived modestly in a small [[terraced house]] until 1943, when his parents took charge of the village's [[working men's club]] and lived above it.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=45}}{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=15–16}} In 1950 the Simpsons moved to [[Harworth]] on the Nottinghamshire–Yorkshire border, where young Simpson's maternal aunt lived; new coalfields were opening, with employment opportunities for him and older brother Harry, by now, the only children left at home.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=45}}{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=17}} Simpson rode his first bike, his brother-in-law's, at age 12, sharing it with Harry and two cousins for [[Individual time trial|time trials]] around Harworth. Following Harry, Tom joined Harworth & District CC (Cycling Club) aged 13.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=18}}<ref name="don-fp">{{cite news|title=In memory of Harworth's cycling legend, the unique Tom Simpson|url=http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/in-memory-of-harworth-s-cycling-legend-the-unique-tom-simpson-1-508309|access-date=2 June 2015|work=[[Doncaster Free Press]]|publisher=[[Johnston Press]]|date=3 August 2007|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604144647/http://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/in-memory-of-harworth-s-cycling-legend-the-unique-tom-simpson-1-508309|archive-date=4 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He delivered groceries in the [[Bassetlaw District|Bassetlaw district]] by bicycle and traded with a customer for a better road bike.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=18}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=9–11}} He was often left behind in club races; members of his cycling club nicknamed him "four-[[Stone (unit)|stone]] Coppi", after Italian rider [[Fausto Coppi]], due to his slim physique.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=9–11}}

Simpson began winning club time trials, but sensed resentment of his boasting from senior members.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=12–13}} He left Harworth & District and joined [[Rotherham]]'s Scala Wheelers at the end of 1954.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=48}} Simpson's first road race was as a junior at the [[Forest Recreation Ground]] in Nottingham.<ref name="remembering">{{cite magazine|title=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|location=London|pages=20–21|date=1 January 1977}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=24}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=14–15}} After leaving school he was an apprentice [[technical drawing|draughtsman]] at an engineering company in [[Retford]], using the {{convert|10|mi|1|abbr=on}} commute by bike as training.<ref name="don-fp" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=24}} He placed well in half mile races on grass and cement, but decided to concentrate on road racing.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=24}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=14–15}} In May 1955 Simpson won the [[National Cyclists' Union]] South Yorkshire [[individual pursuit]] track event as a junior; the same year, he won the [[British League of Racing Cyclists]] (BLRC) junior [[Hillclimbing (cycling)|hill climb]] championship and placed third in the senior event.<ref name="remembering" />

Simpson immersed himself in the world of cycling, writing letters asking for advice. [[Naturalization|Naturalised]] Austrian rider George Berger responded, travelling from London to Harworth to help him with his riding position.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=50–51}} In late 1955, Simpson ran a red light in a race and was suspended from racing for six months by the BLRC. During his suspension he dabbled in [[motorcycle trials]], nearly quitting cycling but unable to afford a new motorcycle necessary for progress in the sport.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=32–34}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=18–19}}

===Track years===
[[File:Fallowfield stadium, Manchester, 1985.jpg|thumb|alt=Older sports stadium, with football match in progress|In 1956, aged 18, Simpson began track cycling at Manchester's [[Fallowfield Stadium]] (''pictured in 1985'').]]
Berger told Simpson that if he wanted to be a successful road cyclist, he needed experience in [[track cycling]], particularly in the pursuit discipline.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=36}} Simpson competed regularly at [[Fallowfield Stadium]] in Manchester, where in early 1956 he met amateur world pursuit silver medallist [[Cyril Cartwright (cyclist)|Cyril Cartwright]], who helped him develop his technique.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=37–38}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=20–22}} At the national championships at Fallowfield the 18-year-old Simpson won a silver medal in the individual pursuit, defeating amateur world champion [[Norman Sheil]] before losing to [[Mike Gambrill]].<ref name="remembering" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=39–41}}

Simpson began working with his father as a draughtsman at the glass factory in Harworth.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=42–43}} He was riding well; although not selected by Great Britain for the amateur [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships|world championships]], he made the 4,000-metre [[Cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit|team pursuit]] squad for the [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Olympics]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=43–44}} In mid-September, Simpson competed for two weeks in Eastern Europe against Russian and Italian teams to prepare for the Olympics. The seven-rider contingent began with races in [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]], continuing to Moscow before finishing in [[Sofia]]. He was nicknamed "the Sparrow" by the Soviet press because of his slender build.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=43–44}} The following month he was in Melbourne for the Olympics, where the team qualified for the team-pursuit semi-finals against Italy; they were confident of defeating South Africa and France but lost to Italy, taking the bronze medal. Simpson blamed himself for the loss for pushing too hard on a turn and being unable to recover for the next.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=49–50}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=25–35}}<ref name=sports-reference>{{cite web|title=Tom Simpson|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/si/tom-simpson-1.html|work=Sports-Reference.com|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]|access-date=21 May 2013|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204215235/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/si/tom-simpson-1.html|archive-date=4 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Quote box
| align = left
| width = 25%
| quote = There was one name on everyone's lips on that day: "Tom Simpson". There was a buzz in the crowd as he began to climb, you could feel it, and I remember this lad with a shock of hair thundering up the hill past me, carried on a solid wave of excitement. The overall feeling that day was that this was the future, this was the man to watch&nbsp;– Tom Simpson.
| source = Spectator Gordon Hill, remembering the 1957 [[British League of Racing Cyclists|BLRC]] national [[Hillclimbing (cycling)|hill climb]] championships.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=54–55}}
}}
After the Olympics, Simpson trained throughout his winter break into 1957.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=51–52}} In May, he rode in the national 25-mile championships; although he was the favourite, he lost to Sheil in the final. In a [[points race]] at an international event at Fallowfield a week later Simpson crashed badly, almost breaking his leg; he stopped working for a month and struggled to regain his form.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=38}} At the national pursuit championships, he was beaten in the quarter-finals.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=54}} After this defeat Simpson returned to road racing, winning the BLRC national hill climb championship in October before taking a short break from racing. In spring 1958 he traveled to Sofia with Sheil for two weeks' racing.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=54–58}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=40}} On his return he won the national individual pursuit championship at [[Herne Hill Velodrome]]. In July, Simpson won a silver medal for England in the [[Cycling at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's individual pursuit|individual pursuit]] at the [[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|British Empire and Commonwealth Games]] in Cardiff, losing to Sheil by one-hundredth of a second in the final.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=43}} A medical exam taken with the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) revealed Simpson to be [[Color blindness|colour blind]].{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=57–58}}

In September 1958, Simpson competed at the amateur world championships in Paris. Against reigning champion [[:it:Carlo Simonigh|Carlo Simonigh]] of Italy in the opening round of the individual pursuit, he crashed on the concrete track at the end of the race. Simpson was briefly knocked unconscious and sustained a dislocated jaw; however, he won the race since he crashed after the finish line. Although he was in pain, team manager Benny Foster forced Simpson to race in the quarter-final against New Zealand's [[Warwick Dalton]], hoping to unsettle Dalton ahead of a possible meeting with Simpson's teammate Sheil.<ref name="remembering" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=60–61}} Simpson wanted to turn professional, but needed to prove himself first,{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=44–47}} setting his sights on the world amateur indoor [[hour record]]. [[Reg Harris]] arranged for an attempt at Zürich's [[Hallenstadion]] velodrome on Simpson's birthday in November. He failed by 320 metres, covering a distance of {{convert|43.995|km|3|abbr=on}} and blaming his failure on the low temperature generated by an ice rink in the centre of the velodrome.<ref name="remembering" />{{sfn|Pierre|1967|p=22}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=47–48}} The following week he travelled to [[Ghent]], in the Flanders region of Belgium, to ride amateur track races. He stayed at the Café Den Engel, run by Albert Beurick, who organised for him to ride at Ghent's [[Kuipke]] velodrome in the ''Sportpaleis'' (English: Sport Palace).{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=62–63}}

Simpson decided to move to the continent for a better chance at success,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=64}} and contacted French brothers Robert and Yvon Murphy, whom he met while racing. They agreed that he could stay with them in the [[Brittany|Breton]] fishing port of [[Saint-Brieuc]].{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=50–51}} His final event in Britain was at Herne Hill, riding [[Motor-paced racing|motor-paced]] races. Simpson won the event and was invited to Germany to train for the 1959 [[UCI Motor-paced World Championships|motor-paced world championships]], but declined the opportunity in favour of a career on the road. Bicycle manufacturer [[Elswick Hopper]] invited him to join their British-based team, but Benny Foster advised him to continue with his plans to move to France.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=65–66}}

===Move to Brittany===
[[File:Gare St-Brieuc Quais.JPG|thumb|alt=Train station with large, domed building and a high-speed train at the platform|In April 1959, 21-year-old Simpson arrived at [[Gare de Saint-Brieuc]] in Brittany ''(pictured in 2011)'' with £100 and the hope of launching his continental professional career.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=55}}]]
In April 1959, Simpson left for France with [[Pound sterling|£]]100 savings and two [[Carlton Cycles|Carlton]] bikes, one road and one track, given in appreciation of his help promoting the company.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=58}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=54–58}}{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=67}} His last words to his mother before the move were, "I don't want to be sitting here in twenty years' time, wondering what would have happened if I hadn't gone to France".{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=58}} The next day, his [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]] papers were delivered;{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=59}} although willing to serve before his move, he feared the call-up would put his potential career at risk. His mother returned them, with the hope they would understand this.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=85}}{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=84}}

He applied to local cycling clubs, and joined [[:fr:Club olympique briochin|Club Olympique Briochin]], racing with an independent (semi-professional) licence from the [[British Cycling Federation]].{{sfn|Pierre|1967|p=25}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=17}} When settled with the Murphy family, 21-year-old Simpson met 19-year-old Helen Sherburn, an [[au pair]] from Sutton, Yorkshire.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=69}} Simpson began attracting attention, winning races and [[criterium]]s. He was invited to race in the eight-day [[Race stage|stage race]] Route de France by the Saint-Raphaël VC 12e,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=68–71}} the amateur club below the professional team {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1960}}.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=62}} Simpson won the final stage, breaking away from the [[peloton]] and holding on for victory.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=70–71}} After this win, he declined an offer to ride in the [[1959 Tour de France|Tour de France]] for the professional team.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=62}} Simpson had contract offers from two professional teams, {{UCI team code|Mercier|1959}} and {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1959|nolink=yes}}, which had a British cyclist, [[Brian Robinson (cyclist)|Brian Robinson]]; opting for the latter team, on 29 June he signed a contract for 80,000 [[French franc|francs]] (£80 a month).{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=61}}

On Simpson's return to Harworth for Christmas, the RAF were notified and the press ran stories on his apparent draft avoidance.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=84–85}} He passed a medical in Sheffield, but history repeated itself and the papers arrived the day after his departure for his team's training camp in [[Narbonne]] in southern France. The French press, unlike the British, found the situation amusing.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=78}}

==Professional career==

===1959: Foundations===
In July, four months after leaving England, Simpson rode his first race as a professional, the [[Tour de l'Ouest]] in west France. He won the fourth stage and took the overall race leader's jersey. He won the next stage's individual time trial, increasing his lead. On the next stage he lost the lead with a punctured tyre, finishing the race in fourteenth place overall.<ref name="remembering" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=77}}

[[File:Circuit Park Zandvoort aerial photo.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Aerial photo of multi-sport racetrack|Simpson's fourth place in the 1959 [[1959 UCI Road World Championships|world road race championships]] at [[Circuit Park Zandvoort]] in the Netherlands ''(pictured in 2011)'' was the highest ever by a British rider.]]
In August Simpson competed at the world championships in the 5000&nbsp;m [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's individual pursuit|individual pursuit]] at Amsterdam's large, open-air velodrome and the [[UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|road race]] on the nearby [[Circuit Park Zandvoort]] motor-racing track. He placed fourth in the individual pursuit, losing by 0.3 seconds in the quarter-finals. He prepared for the {{convert|180|mi|0|abbr=on}} road race, eight laps of the track. After {{convert|45|mi|0|abbr=on}} a ten-rider [[Glossary of cycling#breakaway|breakaway]] formed; Simpson bridged the [[Glossary of cycling#gap|gap]]. As the peloton began to close in, he tried to [[Glossary of cycling#attack|attack]]. Although he was brought back each time, Simpson placed fourth in a sprint for the best finish to date by a British rider.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=78–80}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=73–75}}<ref name="first-big-wins">{{cite magazine|title=The first big wins|series=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|location=London|pages=16–17|date=8 January 1977}}</ref> He was praised by the winner, [[André Darrigade]] of France, who thought that without Simpson's work on the front, the breakaway would have been caught. Darrigade helped him enter criteriums for extra money.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=81}} His fourth place earned Simpson his nickname, "Major Simpson", from French sports newspaper ''[[L'Équipe]]''. They ran the headline: "''Les carnets du Major Simpson''" ("The notes of Major Simpson"), referencing the 1950s series of books, ''Les carnets du Major Thompson'' by [[Pierre Daninos]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=108}}

Simpson moved up to {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1959|nolink=yes}}'s first team, {{UCI team code|Rapha|1960}}, for the end-of-season one-day [[Classic cycle races|classic races]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=83}} In his first appearance in the [[1959 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]], one of the [[Cycling monument|five "monuments" of cycling]], he retired with a tyre puncture while in the lead group of riders.<ref name="1959-lombardia">{{cite news |title=Volatone a Milano e vittoria di Van Looy |trans-title=Volatone in Milan and win Van Looy |url=http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook&file=/archivio/uni_1959_10/19591019_0006.pdf |newspaper=[[l'Unità]] |date=19 October 1959 |page=6 |language=it |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235452/http://archiviostorico.unita.it/cgi-bin/highlightPdf.cgi?t=ebook&file=%2Farchivio%2Funi_1959_10%2F19591019_0006.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Simpson's last race of the season, he finished fourth in the [[Trofeo Baracchi]], a two-man [[team time trial]] with [[Gérard Saint]], racing against his boyhood idol, Fausto Coppi; it was Coppi's final race before his death.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=83–84}} Simpson finished the season with twenty-eight wins.<ref name="first-big-wins" />

===1960: Tour de France debut===
His first major race of the 1960 season was the one-day "monument" [[1960 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]] in March,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=86}} in which the organisers introduced the [[Poggio di San Remo|Poggio climb]] (the final climb) to keep the race from finishing with a [[Glossary of cycling#bunch sprint|bunch sprint]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2003|p=44}} Simpson broke clear from a breakaway group over the first climb, the [[Passo del Turchino|Turchino]], leading the race for {{convert|45|km|0|abbr=on}} before being caught. He lost contact over the Poggio, finishing in 38th place.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=86–87}}<ref name="1960-msr">{{cite web|title=The 1960 Milan–San Remo result |url=http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1960result.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207104025/http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1960result.htm |archive-date= 7 December 2013  |url-status=dead |work=The Milan–San Remo Cycle Race }}</ref> In April he moved to the Porte de Clichy district of [[Paris]], sharing a small apartment with his teammate Robinson.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=87}}

Days after his move, Simpson rode in [[1960 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]],{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=87}} known as "The Hell of the North", the first cycling race to be shown live on [[Eurovision (network)|Eurovision]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=99}} He launched an attack as an early breakaway, riding alone at the front for {{convert|40|km|1|abbr=on}}, but was caught around a mile from the finish at [[Roubaix Velodrome]], coming in ninth. Simpson rode a lap of honour after the race at the request of the emotional crowd. His televised effort gained him attention throughout Europe.<ref name="lion-tamer">{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Graham|title=The Flanders Lion Tamer|url=http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Apr06/cover_apr_Lion.htm|work=CyclingRevealed|access-date=28 February 2013|date=April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530040745/http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Apr06/cover_apr_Lion.htm|archive-date=30 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=88–91}}{{sfn|Saunders|1971|p=123}} He then won the [[Mont Faron]] hill climb and the overall [[general classification]] of the [[:ca:Tour del Sud-Est|Tour du Sud-Est]], his first overall win in a professional stage race. He planned to ride in the [[Manx Trophy|Isle of Man International]] road race, excited to see to his home fans. There were rumours, which proved correct, that the [[Royal Military Police]] were waiting for him at the airport, so he decided not to travel.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=91–93}} This was the last he heard from the authorities regarding his call-up. The British Cycling Federation fined him £25 for his absence.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=85–85}}

[[File:Col Aubisque.jpg|thumb|alt=Cyclist riding down a mountain in the Pyrenees|Simpson crashed descending the [[Col d'Aubisque]] ''(pictured)'' during the tenth stage of the [[1960 Tour de France]], finishing the tour in 29th place overall.]]
In June, Simpson made his [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tour]] debut in the [[1960 Tour de France|Tour de France]] aged 22. Rapha ''[[directeur sportif]]'' (team manager) [[Raymond Louviot]] opposed his participation, but since the race was contested by national teams Simpson accepted the invitation from the British squad.<ref name="tackling-first-tour">{{cite magazine|title=Tackling his first Tour|series=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|location=London|pages=18–19|date=15 January 1977}}</ref> During the first stage, he was part of a thirteen-rider breakaway which finished over two minutes in front of the field; he crashed on the [[cinder track]] at [[King Baudouin Stadium|Heysel Stadium]] in Brussels, finishing thirteenth, but received the same time as the winner.<ref name="tackling-first-tour" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=94}} Later that day he finished ninth in the time trial, moving up to fifth place overall.<ref name="bri-1960tdf">{{cite web|title=1960 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1960.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=3 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603023557/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1960.html|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> During the third stage Simpson was part of a breakaway with two French riders who repeatedly attacked him, forcing him to chase and use energy needed for the finish; he finished third, missing the thirty-second bonus for a first-place finish, which would have put him in the overall race leader's [[General classification in the Tour de France|yellow jersey]].<ref name="tackling-first-tour" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=94–95}} He dropped to ninth overall by the end of the first week.<ref name="bri-1960tdf" /> During stage ten, Simpson crashed descending the [[Col d'Aubisque]] in the Pyrenees but finished the stage in fourteenth place.<ref name="tackling-first-tour" /> In the following stage he was dropped, exhausted, from a chasing group; failing to recover.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=95–96}} He finished the Tour in twenty-ninth place overall,<ref name="tackling-first-tour" /><ref name="bri-1960tdf" /> losing {{convert|2|st|kg lb|abbr=on}} in weight over the three weeks.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=190}}

After the Tour, Simpson rode criteriums around Europe until crashing in central France; he returned home to Paris and checked himself into a hospital.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=129–130}} Following a week's bed-rest, he rode in the [[1960 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] at the [[Sachsenring]] in East Germany. During the race Simpson stopped to adjust his shoes on the right side of the road and was hit from behind by a car, sustaining a cut to his head which required five stitches.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=98}} In the last of the classics, the [[1960 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]], he struggled,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=100}} finishing eighty-fourth.<ref name="the-sports">{{cite web|title=Tom Simpson (Great Britain)|url=http://www.the-sports.org/tom-simpson-cycling-spf47465.html|work=The-Sports.org|publisher=Info Média Conseil|access-date=6 May 2015|location=Québec, Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215214755/http://www.the-sports.org/tom-simpson-cycling-spf47465.html|archive-date=15 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Simpson had been in constant contact with Helen, who was now working in [[Stuttgart]], Germany, meeting with her between races. They became engaged on Christmas Day, and originally planned to marry at the end of 1961,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=100}} but in fact wed on 3 January 1961 in Doncaster, Yorkshire.{{sfn|Pierre|1967|p=28}}

===1961: Tour of Flanders and injury===
Simpson's first major event of the 1961 season was the [[1961 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]] stage race in March. In stage three he helped his team win the team time trial and took the general classification lead by three seconds; however, he lost it in the next stage. In the final stages of the race Simpson's attacks were thwarted, and he finished fifth overall.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=102–103}}

[[File:Wetteren Sint-Gertrudiskerk 22-09-2010 13-28-17.JPG|thumb|left|alt=Belgian town with large church in background|Simpson won the [[1961 Tour of Flanders]] in a two-man sprint with [[Nino Defilippis]] in [[Wetteren]], Belgium, becoming the first Briton to win a [[Cycling monument|"monument" classic]].]]
On 26 March, Simpson rode in the one-day [[1961 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]. With {{UCI team code|Carpano|1961}}'s [[Nino Defilippis]], he chased down an early breakaway. Simpson worked with the group; with about {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=on}} to go he attacked, followed by Defilippis. The finish, three circuits around the town of [[Wetteren]], was flat; Defilippis, unlike Simpson, was a [[Cycling sprinter|sprinter]] and was expected to win. One kilometre from the finish, Simpson launched a sprint; he eased off with 300&nbsp;m to go, tricking Defilippis into thinking he was exhausted. As Defilippis passed, Simpson jumped again to take victory, becoming the first Briton to win a "monument" classic.<ref name="lion-tamer" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=106–107}} Defilippis protested that the finishing banner had been blown down, and he did not know where the finish was; however, the judges noted that the finish line was clearly marked on the road itself.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=107}} Defilippis' team asked Simpson to agree to a tie, saying no Italian had won a classic since 1953. He replied: "An Englishman had not won one since 1896!"{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=103–104}}

A week later, Simpson rode in [[1961 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]] in the hope of bettering his previous year's ninth place. As the race reached the [[Sett (paving)|paved]] section he went on a solo attack, at which point he was told that {{UCI team code|Mercier|1961|nolink=yes}} rider [[Raymond Poulidor]] was chasing him down. Simpson increased his speed, catching the publicity and press vehicles ahead (known as the ''[[Glossary of cycling#caravane|caravane]]''). A press car swerved to avoid a pothole; this forced him into a roadside ditch. Simpson fell, damaging his front wheel and injuring his knee. He found his team car and collected a replacement wheel, but by then the front of the race had passed. Back in the race he crashed twice more, finishing 88th.<ref name="lion-tamer" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=108–109}}

At Simpson's next race, the four-day Grand Prix d'Eibar, his first in Spain, his knee injury still bothered him. He won the second stage, but was forced to quit during the following stage.<ref name="memoire">{{cite web|title=Palmarès de Tom Simpson (Gbr)|language=fr|trans-title=Awards of Tom Simpson (Gbr)|url=http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/palmares/simpson_tom.php|work=Memoire du cyclisme|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521075641/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/palmares/simpson_tom.php|archive-date=21 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=105–106}} His injury had not healed, even after treatment by various specialists, but for financial reasons he was forced to enter the [[1961 Tour de France|Tour de France]] with the British team.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=110–111}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=65}} He abandoned on stage three, which started in Roubaix, struggling to pedal on the cobbles.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Longchamp |first=Marcel |title=Simpson "Disaster" |url=http://www.tour-racing.org.uk/html/1961_tour_de_france.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610050235/http://www.tour-racing.org.uk/html/1961_tour_de_france.html |archive-date=10 June 2015 |access-date=29 October 2016  |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling and Mopeds]] |publisher=Longacre Press |location=London |date=5 July 1961 |via=Tour-Racing.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Stage 3 Roubaix > Charlero|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1961/300/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819054220/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1961/300/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> Three months after his fall at Paris–Roubaix he saw a doctor at St. Michael's Hospital in Paris. He gave Simpson injections in his knee, which reduced the inflammation.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=106–107}} Once healed, he competed in the [[1961 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] in Berne, Switzerland. On the track he qualified for the individual pursuit with the fourth-fastest time, losing in the quarter-finals to [[Peter Post]] of the Netherlands. In the road race, Simpson was part of a seventeen-rider breakaway that finished together in a sprint; he crossed the line in ninth place.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=111–113}}

Helen became pregnant; Simpson's apartment in Paris was now unsuitable and a larger home in France was not in their means. In October, with help from his friend, Albert Beurick, they moved into a small cottage in Ghent.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=113}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=117}} Low on funds, Simpson earned money in one-day track races in Belgium.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=114}}

===1962: Yellow jersey===
Simpson's contract with Rapha-Gitane-Dunlop had ended with the 1961 season. Tour de France winner [[Jacques Anquetil]] signed with them for 1962, but Simpson wanted to lead a team, and signed with {{UCI team code|Alcyon|1962}} for the 1962 season.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=114}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=110}} After training camp at [[Lodève]] in southern France, he rode in [[1962 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=115}} He helped his team win the stage-3a team time trial and finished second overall, behind {{UCI team code|FLA|1962}}'s [[Jef Planckaert]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=115}}<ref name="letour-1962tdf-starters">{{cite web|title=The 1962 starters|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/partants.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705041514/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/partants.html|archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> He was unable to ride in [[1962 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]] when its organisers limited the race to Italian-based teams;{{refn|The organisers of the [[1962 Milan–San Remo]] only allowed Italian teams to participate as an attempt to get an Italian winner, as the last one was in 1953.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=115}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Past winners |url=http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/palmares.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818120956/http://milansanremo.co.uk/palmares.htm |archive-date=18 August 2013 |access-date=29 October 2016  |url-status=dead |work=The Milan-San Remo Cycle Race }}</ref>|group=n|name=1962ms}} instead he rode in [[1962 Gent–Wevelgem|Gent–Wevelgem]], finishing sixth,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=115}} then defended his [[Tour of Flanders]] title. At the end of the latter, Simpson was in a select group of riders at the head of the race. Although he led over each of the final climbs, at the finish he finished fifth and won the [[King of the Mountains]] prize.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=116–117}} A week later Simpson finished thirty-seventh in [[1962 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]], delayed by a crash.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=117}}<ref name="yellow-jersey">{{cite magazine|title=The Yellow Jersey|series=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|location=London|pages=22–23|date=22 January 1977}}</ref>

[[File:1962 Tour de France yellow jersey (Gitane-Leroux).svg|thumb|upright|alt=Yellow jersey with Leroux-Gitane insignia|At the [[1962 Tour de France]] Simpson claimed the yellow jersey at the end of stage 12 as [[General classification in the Tour de France|general classification]] leader, losing it the next day.]]
Coming into the [[1962 Tour de France|Tour de France]], Simpson was leader of his team;{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=122}} it was the first time since 1929 that company teams were allowed to compete.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|p=253}} He finished ninth in the first stage,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=122}} in a group of twenty-two riders who finished over eight minutes ahead of the rest.<ref name="yellow-jersey" /> Simpson's team finished second to {{UCI team code|FLA|1962|nolink=yes}} in the stage-2b team time trial; he was in seventh place in the general classification,<ref name="bri-1962tdf">{{cite web|title=1962 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1962.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111003512/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1962.html|archive-date=11 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> remaining in the top ten the rest of the first week.<ref name="bri-1962tdf" /> During stage 8a he was in a thirty-rider group which gained about six minutes, moving him to second overall behind teammate André Darrigade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stage 8.01 Saint-Nazaire > Luçon|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/801/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819055802/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/801/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=3 June 2013}}</ref> At the end of the eleventh stage Simpson was third in the overall, over a minute behind race leader [[Willy Schroeders]] ({{UCI team code|FLA|1962|nolink=yes}}) and fifty-one seconds behind Darrigade.<ref name="letour-1962tdf-starters" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Stage 11 Bayonne > Pau|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/1100/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819053131/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/1100/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> Stage twelve from [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] to Saint-Gaudens, the hardest stage of the 1962 Tour (known as the "[[Glossary of cycling#circle of death|Circle of Death]]"), was the Tour's first mountain stage.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stage 12 Pau > Saint-Gaudens|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/1200/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819060544/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1962/1200/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=3 June 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=277–288}} Simpson saw an opportunity to lead the race. The team now solely concentrated on his interests, since Darrigade was a sprinter and would no longer be involved in the general classification.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=124}} As the peloton reached the [[Col du Tourmalet]], Simpson attacked with a small group of select riders, finishing eighteenth place in a bunch sprint. As he finished ahead of all the other leaders in the general classification, he became the overall new leader of race, and the first British rider to wear the leader's yellow jersey.<ref name="yellow-jersey" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=123–125}} Simpson lost the lead on the following stage, a short time trial ending with a steep uphill finish at [[Superbagnères]]. He finished thirty-first and dropped to sixth overall.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=126}}<ref name="bri-1962tdf" /> On stage nineteen he advanced recklessly descending the [[Col de Porte]] in the Alps, crashing on a bend and only saved from falling over the edge by a tree, leaving him with a broken left middle finger. He lost almost eleven minutes in the next stage's time trial, finishing the Tour at Paris' [[Parc des Princes]] stadium 17 minutes and 9 seconds behind in 6th place.<ref name="yellow-jersey" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=126–128}}

After the Tour Simpson rode criteriums before the [[1962 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] in Salò, Italy, where he retired after missing a large breakaway.<ref name="yellow-jersey" /> He began riding [[six-day racing|six-day]] track races into his winter break. In December he made an appearance at the Champions' Concert cycling awards held at [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London. Separately, he won the British Cycling Federation's Personality of the Year. Simpson and Helen were expecting their second child and upgraded to a larger house in [[Sint-Amandsberg]], a sub-municipality of Ghent.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=130–136}}

===1963: Bordeaux–Paris===
[[:fr:Leroux (entreprise)|Leroux]] withdrew its sponsorship of the Gitane team for the 1963 season. Simpson was contracted to their manager, Raymond Louviot; Louviot was rejoining {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1963|nolink=yes}} and Simpson could follow, but he saw that as a step backwards. {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1963}} bought the contract from Louviot, which ran until the end of the season.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=134}} Simpson's season opened with Paris–Nice; he fell out of contention after a series of tyre punctures in the opening stages, using the rest of the race as training. He withdrew from the race on the final stage to rest for his next race, [[1963 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]]; after breaking away by himself he stopped beside the road, which annoyed his fellow riders.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=137–138}} At Milan–San Remo, Simpson was in a four-rider breakaway; his tyre punctured, and although he got back to the front, he finished nineteenth.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=138}}<ref>{{cite web|title=1963 Milano&nbsp;– San Remo|url=http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Milan-San%20Remo/1963-milan-san-remo.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209010756/http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Milan-San%20Remo/1963-milan-san-remo.html|archive-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> He placed third in the Tour of Flanders in a three-rider sprint.<ref name="paris-tours">{{cite web|title=1963 Tour of Flanders|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Tour%20of%20Flanders/1963-tour-of-flanders.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209010918/http://bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Tour%20of%20Flanders/1963-tour-of-flanders.html|archive-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[1963 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]] Simpson worked for teammate, and winner, [[Emile Daems]], finishing ninth. In the one-day [[Paris–Brussels]] he was in a breakaway near the Belgian border; with {{convert|50|km|1|abbr=on}} remaining he was left with world road race champion [[Jean Stablinski]] of {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1963|nolink=yes}}, who attacked on a cobbled climb in Alsemberg outside Brussels. Simpson's bike slipped a gear, and Stablinski stayed away for the victory. After his second-place finish, Simpson led the [[Super Prestige Pernod International]] season-long competition for world's best cyclist. The following week he raced in the [[Ardennes classics]], placing thirty-third in [[1963 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]], after he rode alone for about {{convert|100|km|0|abbr=on}} before being caught in the closing kilometres.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=139–144}}<ref name="letour-1963tdf-starters">{{cite web|title=The 1963 starters|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1963/partants.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705041507/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1963/partants.html|archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref>

{{Location map+|France|AlternativeMap=France relief location map.jpg|overlay_image=Bordeaux–Paris route overlay.svg|width=220|float=left|alt=Map of France showing the route of the Bordeaux–Paris race|caption=In 1963, Simpson won the {{convert|557|km|0|abbr=on}} [[derny]]-paced [[Bordeaux–Paris]] race, one of the longest [[Classic cycle races|one-day]] races.|places={{Location map~|France|label='''Bordeaux'''|lat=44.8386|long=-0.5783|position=right}}{{Location map~|France|label=Angoulême|lat=45.6489|long=0.1608|label_size=80|marksize=6|position=right}}{{Location map~|France|label=Châtellerault|lat=46.8178|long=0.5461|label_size=80|marksize=6|position=right}}{{Location map~|France|label=Orléans|lat=47.9025|long=1.9090|label_size=80|marksize=6|position=right}}{{Location map~|France|label='''Paris'''|lat=48.8567|long=2.3508|position=right}}}}
On 26 May, Simpson rode in the one-day, {{convert|557|km|0|abbr=on}} [[Bordeaux–Paris]]. Also known as the "Derby of the Road", it was the longest he had ever ridden.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bordeaux–Paris 1963|url=http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ritfiche.php?ritid=12289|work=Cycling Archives|publisher=de Wielersite|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=145}} The race began at 1:58&nbsp;am; the initial {{convert|161|km|0|abbr=on}} were unpaced until the town of [[Châtellerault]], where [[derny]]s (motorised bicycles) paced each rider to the finish. Simpson broke away in a group of three riders. Simpson's pacer, Fernand Wambst, increased his speed, and Simpson dropped the other two. He caught the lead group, thirteen minutes ahead, over a distance of {{convert|161|km|0|abbr=on}}. Simpson attacked, and with {{convert|36|km|1|abbr=on}} remaining, opening a margin of two minutes. His lead steadily increased, and he finished in the Parc des Princes over five minutes ahead of teammate [[Piet Rentmeester]].<ref name="yellow-jersey" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wadley|first=J. B.|author-link=Jock Wadley|title=Tea-Time at the Parc|url=http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/html/1963_bordeaux-paris.html|magazine=[[Sporting Cyclist]]|publisher=[[Charlie Buchan]]|access-date=28 February 2013|date=July 1963|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006035221/http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/html/1963_bordeaux-paris.html|archive-date=6 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=147–149}}

Simpson announced that he would not ride the Tour de France, concentrating on the world road championships instead. Before, he won the Isle of Man International in treacherous conditions where only sixteen out of seventy riders finished.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=150–151}} At the [[1963 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] in Ronse, Belgium, the Belgians controlled the race until Simpson broke free, catching two riders ahead: [[Henry Anglade]] (France) and [[Shay Elliott]] (Ireland). Anglade was dropped, and Elliott refused to work with Simpson.{{refn|[[Shay Elliott]] rode for {{UCI team code|Saint-Raphaël|1963|nolink=yes}}, the rival team of Simpson's Peugeot team, and would not work with Simpson and risk him winning.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=154}} Two years later Simpson revealed in ''[[The Sunday People|The People]]'' that he offered Elliott £1,100 for him to work with him.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=106}}|group=n|name=elliott}} They were caught; the race finished in a bunch sprint,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=153–155}} with Simpson crossing the line in 29th.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Championships 1963|url=http://www.the-sports.org/cycling-world-championships-results-1963-men-epm11986.html|work=The-Sports.org|publisher=Info Média Conseil|access-date=5 May 2015|location=Québec, Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215220517/http://www.the-sports.org/cycling-world-championships-results-1963-men-epm11986.html|archive-date=15 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Simpson's season ended with six-day races across Europe and an invitation only race on the Pacific island of [[New Caledonia]], along with other European riders. He skipped his usual winter training schedule for his first skiing holiday at [[Saint-Gervais-les-Bains]] in the Alps, taking Helen and his two young daughters, Jane and Joanne.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=157–161}}

===1964: Milan–San Remo===
After a training camp near Nice in southern France Simpson rode in the one-day [[Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne]] in Belgium,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=162}} finishing second to {{UCI team code|Solo|1964}}'s [[Arthur Decabooter]]. The conditions were so cold, he only completed the race to keep warm.<ref name="letour-1964tdf-starters">{{cite web|title=The 1964 starters|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1964/partants.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705041503/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1964/partants.html|archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> Albert Beurick started Simpson's supporters club at the Café Den Engel, raising £250 for him in the first nine months. In [[1964 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]], his tyre punctured during stage four, losing five minutes and used the rest of the race for training.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=163}}

[[File:1964 Milan–San Remo profile.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Topography chart of Milan-San Remo Classic race|Profile of the [[1964 Milan–San Remo]], which Simpson won, riding his second season with {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1964}}]]
On 19 March, two days later, Simpson rode in [[1964 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=163}} Before the race, French journalist [[René de Latour]] advised Simpson not to attack early: "If you feel good then keep it for the last hour of the race."{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=163}} In the final {{convert|32|km|1|abbr=on}}, Simpson escaped in a group of four riders, which included the 1961 winner, Poulidor of {{UCI team code|Mercier|1964|nolink=yes}}. On final climb, the Poggio, Poulidor launched a series of attacks on the group; only Simpson managed to stay with him and they crossed the summit and descended into San Remo. With 500&nbsp;m to go, Simpson began his sprint; Poulidor could not respond, leaving Simpson to take the victory with a record average speed of {{convert|27.1|mph|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="letour-1964tdf-starters" /><ref name="1964-story">{{cite web|title=The 1964 Milan-San Remo |url=http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1964/1964story.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060123/http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1964/1964story.htm |archive-date=21 September 2013 |access-date=29 October 2016  |url-status=dead |work=The Milan-San Remo Cycle Race }}</ref><ref name="world-champion">{{cite magazine|title=World Champion|series=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|location=London|pages=8–9|date=29 January 1977}}</ref>

Simpson spent the next two months training for the [[1964 Tour de France|Tour de France]] at the end of June.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=167}} After the first week of the Tour, Simpson was in tenth place overall.<ref name="bri-1964tdf">{{cite web|title=1964 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1964.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=3 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603003916/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1964.html|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On the ninth stage, he was part of 22-rider breakaway which finished together at Monaco's [[Stade Louis II (1939)|Stade Louis II]]; he placed second to Anquetil, moving up to eighth overall.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=169}}<ref name="c-1964tdf">{{cite magazine|title=1964 Tour de France|url=http://www.tour-racing.co.uk/html/1964_tour_de_france.html|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=Temple Press|location=London|access-date=1 March 2013|date=July 1964|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606113407/http://www.tour-racing.co.uk/html/1964_tour_de_france.html|archive-date=6 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The next day, he finished 20th in the {{convert|20.8|km|1|abbr=on}} time trial.<ref name="bri-1964tdf" /> During the 16th stage, which crossed four [[col]]s, Simpson finished 33rd, 25 minutes and 10 seconds behind the stage winner, and dropped to 17th overall.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=171}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Stage 16 Luchon > Pau|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1964/1600/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819055742/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1964/1600/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=7 June 2013}}</ref> He finished the Tour in 14th place overall.<ref name="bri-1964tdf" /> Simpson later discovered that he rode the Tour suffering from [[Cestoda|tapeworms]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=171}}<ref name="scotsman" />

After the race, Simpson prepared for the [[1964 UCI Road World Championships|world road championships]] with distance training and criteriums.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=151}} At the world championships on 3 September, the {{convert|290|km|0|abbr=on}} road race consisted of twenty-four laps of a varying circuit at [[Sallanches]] in the French Alps.<ref name="bri-worlds">{{cite web|title=World Professional (Elite) Road Cycling Championship|url=http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/worlds/world-championships-index.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=7 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055509/http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/worlds/world-championships-index.html|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=173}} Simpson crashed on the third lap while descending in wet conditions, damaging a pedal.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=136}} He got back to the peloton, launching a solo attack on a descent; he then chased down the group of four leaders with two laps to go. On the last lap he was dropped by three riders, finishing six seconds behind.<ref name="world-champion" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=172–175}} On 17 October, Simpson rode in the [[1964 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]. Halfway through the race he was given the wrong ''[[Glossary of bicycling#Musette|musette]]'' (bag) by his team in the [[Glossary of cycling#feed zone|feed zone]], and threw it away. With the head of the race reduced to five riders, [[Molteni (cycling team)|Molteni]]'s [[Gianni Motta]] attacked. Simpson was the only one who could follow, but he began to feel the effects of not eating. Motta gave him part of his food, which sustained him for a while. On the final climb Simpson led Motta, but was exhausted. Over the remaining {{convert|10|km|1|abbr=on}} of flat terrain, Motta dropped him; Simpson cracked, and was repeatedly overtaken,<ref name="letour-1964tdf-starters" /><ref name="world-champion" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=177}} finishing twenty-first.<ref name="the-sports" /> He closed the year riding track races.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=179}}

===1965: World championship and Lombardia===
The Simpson family spent Christmas in England, before a trip to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, where Simpson injured himself skiing, suffering a broken foot and a sprained ankle. He recovered, riding six-day races. At the Antwerp six-day, he dropped out on the fourth day with a cold. His cold worsened and he missed most of March. He abandoned [[1965 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]] at the foot of the Poggio.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=183–184}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=158–160}} On 11 April, he finished seventh in [[1965 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]] after crashing in the lead group.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=185–186}}<ref name="1965-pr">{{cite news|title=Trionfo solitario di Rik Van Looy sul traguardo dell Parigi–Roubaix|trans-title=Rik Van Looy solitary triumph at the finish line of the Paris–Roubaix|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,13/articleid,0102_02_1965_0086_0013_5571167/|newspaper=[[La Stampa]]|date=13 April 1965|page=13|language=it|access-date=3 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528140923/http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,13/articleid,0102_02_1965_0086_0013_5571167/|archive-date=28 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The crash forced him to miss the Tour of Flanders as he struggled to walk on his injured foot. In [[1965 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]] he attacked with {{UCI team code|Salvarani|1965}}'s [[Felice Gimondi]], catching an early break. They worked together for {{convert|25|km|1|abbr=on}}, until Gimondi gave up. Simpson rode alone before slipping on oil mixed with water; he stayed with the front group, finishing tenth.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=187–188}}<ref name="letour-1965tdf-starters">{{cite web|title=The 1965 starters|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1965/partants.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705041454/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1965/partants.html|archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref>

On 29 May, Simpson rode in the London–[[Holyhead]] race, the longest unpaced one-day race, with a distance of {{convert|265|mi|0|abbr=on|adj=on}};<ref name="world-champion" />{{sfn|Saunders|1971|p=66}} he won in a bunch sprint, setting a record of ten hours and twenty-nine minutes.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=163–165}} He followed with an appearance at Bordeaux–Paris. [[François Mahé]] ({{UCI team code|Pelforth|1965}}) went on a lone break, Simpson attacked in pursuit, followed by Jean Stablinski. Simpson's derny broke down, and he was delayed changing motorbikes. He caught Stablinski, and was joined by Anquetil. Outside Paris Mahé was caught and dropped, after {{convert|200|km|0|abbr=on}} on his own. Anquetil won the race by fifty-seven seconds ahead of Stablinski, who beat Simpson in a sprint.<ref name="letour-1965tdf-starters" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=191–192}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Graham|title=The Legend, the D.S., the Domestique and an Englishman|url=http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Nov10/Nov_feature10_B-P1965.html|work=CyclingRevealed|access-date=5 June 2013|date=November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061509/http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Nov10/Nov_feature10_B-P1965.html|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Peugeot manager [[:fr:Gaston Plaud|Gaston Plaud]] ordered Simpson to ride the [[Grand Prix du Midi Libre|Midi Libre]] stage race to earn a place in the [[1965 Tour de France|Tour de France]], and he finished third overall.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=193}} The 1965 Tour was considered open due to Anquetil's absence,{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|p=6}} and Simpson was among the riders favoured by ''L'Équipe''. During stage nine he injured his hand crashing on the descent of the Col d'Aubisque in the Pyrenees,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=195}} finishing tenth in the stage and seventh in general classification.<ref name="bri-1965tdf">{{cite web|title=1965 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1965.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=13 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603014958/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1965.html|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Simpson developed bronchitis after stage fifteen and [[Glossary of cycling#crack|cracked]] on the next stage, losing nearly nineteen minutes. His hand became infected, but he rode the next three stages before the Tour doctor stopped him from racing.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=196}} He was taken to hospital, where they operated on his hand and treated him for blood poisoning, bronchitis and a kidney infection.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=196}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=190}}

[[File:Tom Simpson rainbow jersey.svg|thumb|left|upright|alt=World champion's rainbow jersey, with Peugeot insignia|Simpson won the [[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|1965 world road race championship]], claiming the [[rainbow jersey]] and wearing it during the following season.]]
After ten days off his bike, Simpson was only contracted to three post-Tour criteriums. His training for the [[1965 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] included [[Kermesse (cycling)|kermesse]] circuit races in Flanders. Simpson's last race before the world championships was the [[Paris–Luxembourg]] stage race, riding as a super-''[[domestique]]'' (lieutenant).{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=197–198}} On 5 September, Simpson rode in the [[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|road race]] at the world championships in [[San Sebastián]], Spain.<ref name="bri-worlds" /> The race was a {{convert|267.4|km|0|abbr=on}} hilly circuit of fourteen laps. The British team had no support; Simpson and his friend Albert Beurick obtained food and drink by stealing from other teams.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=199–200}} During the first lap, a strong break was begun by British rider [[Barry Hoban]]. As his lead stretched to one minute, Simpson and teammates [[Vin Denson]] and [[Alan Ramsbottom]] bridged the gap, followed by Germany's Rudi Altig. Hoban kept the pace high enough to prevent any of the favourites from joining. Simpson and Altig broke clear with two-and-a-half laps remaining, staying together until the final kilometre, when Simpson launched his sprint; he held off Altig for victory by three bike lengths, becoming the first British professional world road race champion.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=200–202}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Simpson Champion|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=Go Magazine|location=London|pages=16–17|date=11 September 1965|url=http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/tom-simpson-britains-first-pro-road-champion-57139|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529200521/http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/tom-simpson-britains-first-pro-road-champion-57139|archive-date=29 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 16 October, Simpson rode in the [[1965 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]], which featured five mountain passes. He escaped with Motta, and dropped him before the finish in [[Como]] to win his third "monument" classic over three minutes ahead of the rest. Simpson was the second world champion to win in Italy; the first was [[Alfredo Binda]] in 1927.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=204–205}}{{sfn|Simpson|2009|pp=179–180}}<ref name="tragic-day">{{cite magazine|title=That last tragic day on Mont Ventoux|series=Remembering Tom Simpson|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|location=London|pages=11–12|date=5 February 1977}}</ref> Simpson was offered lucrative contracts by teams, including {{UCI team code|FLA|1962|nolink=yes}} who were prepared to pay him the year's salary in advance. He could not escape his contract with Peugeot, which ran until the end of the 1967 season.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=206}} For the next three weeks he rode contract races, riding an estimated {{convert|12000|mi|abbr=on}}. He rode 18 races, with each earning him £300–£350.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=129}}

Simpson ended the year second to Anquetil in the Super Prestige Pernod International, and won the ''[[Daily Express]]'' Sportsman of the Year, the [[Sports Journalists' Association]] Sportsman of the Year, presented by the Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]], and the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award|BBC Sports Personality of the Year]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=207–210}}{{sfn|Pierre|1967|p=66}} In British cycling Simpson won the British Cycling Federation Personality of the Year and the [[Frederick Thomas Bidlake|Bidlake]] Memorial Prize.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=208}}<ref name="bidlake">{{cite web|title=Recipients|url=http://www.bidlakememorial.org.uk/Recipients.htm|work=The F. T. [[Frederick Thomas Bidlake|Bidlake]] Memorial Trust|access-date=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724054459/http://bidlakememorial.org.uk/Recipients.htm|archive-date=24 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> He was given the [[Freedom of the City|freedom]] of Sint-Amandsberg; his family, including his parents, were driven in an open-top car along the crowd-lined route from the Café Den Engel to the [[:nl:Stadhuis van Gent|Town Hall]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=208}}
{{clear}}

===1966: An injury-ridden season===
As in the previous winter, Simpson went on a skiing holiday. On 25 January he fell, breaking his right [[tibia]], and his leg was in a plaster cast until the end of February. He missed contract races, crucial training and most of the spring classics. Simpson began riding again in March, and in late April started, but did not finish, [[1966 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=211–216}}

[[File:Col du Galibier, October 8, 2009.jpg|thumb|alt=Winding mountain road, with messages painted on the pavement|Simpson crashed descending the [[Col du Galibier]] ''(pictured)'' during stage sixteen of the [[1966 Tour de France]], injuring his arm and forcing him to abandon the Tour the next day.]]
Simpson's injury did not stop the press from naming him a favourite for the [[1966 Tour de France|Tour de France]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=211–216}} He was subdued in the race until stage twelve, when he forced a breakaway with Altig (Molteni), finishing second.<ref name="bri-1966tdf">{{cite web|title=1966 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1966.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901140011/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1966.html|archive-date=1 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="letour-1966tdf-starters">{{cite web|title=The 1966 starters|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1966/partants.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704010426/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1966/partants.html|archive-date=4 July 2013 |access-date=4 July 2013}}</ref> Simpson again finished second in the next stage, jumping clear of the peloton in a three-rider group in the final kilometres. After the stage he was eighteenth overall, over seven minutes down.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=220–221}}<ref name="letour-1966tdf-starters" /> Simpson moved up to 16th after finishing 5th in stage 14b&nbsp;– a short time trial.<ref name="bri-1966tdf" /><ref name="letour-1966tdf-starters" /> As the race reached the Alps, he decided to make his move. During stage sixteen he attacked on the descent of the first of three cols, the [[Col de la Croix de Fer|Croix de Fer]]. He crashed but continued, attacking again. Simpson was joined by {{UCI team code|Ford France|1966}}'s [[Julio Jiménez (cyclist)|Julio Jiménez]] on the climb of the [[Col du Télégraphe|Télégraphe]] to the [[Col du Galibier|Galibier]]. Simpson was caught by a chase group descending the Galibier before he crashed again, knocked off his bike by a press motorcycle. The crash required five stitches in his arm.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|p=253}}<ref name="letour-1966tdf-starters" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=222–225}} The next day he struggled to hold the handlebars and could not use the brake lever with his injured arm, forcing him to abandon. His answer to journalists asking about his future was, "I don't know. I'm heartbroken. My season is ruined."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=175}}

After recovering from his injury Simpson rode 40 criteriums in 40 days, capitalising on his world championship and his attacks in the Tour.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=226}} He retired from the [[1966 UCI Road World Championships|road world championships]] at the Nürburgring with [[cramp]].<ref name="tragic-day" /> His road season ended with retirements from autumn classics Paris–Tours and the Giro di Lombardia. He rode six-day races, finishing fourteenth in the winter rankings.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=227–228}} The misfortune he endured during the season made him the first rider named as a victim of the "[[curse of the rainbow jersey]]".{{sfn|Wilcockson|2009|p=159}} For the winter Simpson took his family to the island of [[Corsica]], planning the build of his retirement home.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=228}}

===1967: Paris–Nice and Vuelta stages===
Simpson's primary objective for 1967 was overall victory in the [[1967 Tour de France|Tour de France]]; in preparation, he planned to ride stage races instead of one-day classics. Simpson felt his chances were good because this Tour was contested by national, rather than professional teams.<ref name="win-tour">{{cite interview|last=Simpson|first=Tom|interviewer=Ken Evans|title='We can win the Tour'|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=Longacre Press|location=London|pages=14–15|date=8 April 1967}}</ref>{{refn|The national team format was used in the [[1967 Tour de France]] after tour organiser, [[Félix Lévitan]], believed the team sponsors were behind the riders' strike in the previous year's Tour.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=24}}|group=n|name=teams}} He would lead the British team, which&nbsp;– although one of the weakest&nbsp;– would support him totally,<ref name="haunts">{{cite news|last=Gallagher|first=Brendan|title=Tom Simpson haunts Tour 40 years on|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brendangallagher/2316933/Tom-Simpson-haunts-Tour-40-years-on.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=30 April 2013|location=London|date=13 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111024543/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brendangallagher/2316933/Tom-Simpson-haunts-Tour-40-years-on.html|archive-date=11 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> unlike Peugeot.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=238}} During Simpson's previous three years with Peugeot, he was only guaranteed a place on their Tour team if he signed with them for the following year.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=176}} Free to join a new team for the 1968 season, he was offered at least ten contracts; Simpson had a verbal agreement with Italian team Salvarani, and would share its leadership with Felice Gimondi.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=228}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=130}} In an interview with ''Cycling'' (now [[Cycling Weekly]]) journalist, Ken Evans, in April, Simpson revealed his intention to attempt the hour record in the 1967 season. He also said he wanted retire from road racing aged 33, to ride on the track and spend more time with his family.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Simpson|first=Tom|interviewer=Ken Evans|title='I'll get the hour&nbsp;– before the others try'|magazine=[[Cycling Weekly|Cycling]]|publisher=Longacre Press|location=London|pages=4–5|date=1 April 1967}}</ref>

[[File:Eddy Merckx 1967cr.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Eddy Merckx on a bike wearing the Peugeot team kit|Simpson contested leadership of {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1967}} with 21-year-old [[Eddy Merckx]] ''(pictured)'' at the [[1967 Paris–Nice]], which Simpson won.]]
In March he rode in the [[1967 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]. After stage two his teammate, [[Eddy Merckx]], took the overall lead.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=58}} Simpson moved into the lead the next day as part of a breakaway, missed by Merckx, which finished nearly twenty minutes ahead. Merckx thought Simpson double-crossed him, but Simpson was a passive member of the break.<ref name="tragic-day" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=230–231}} At the start of stage six, Simpson was in second place behind {{UCI team code|Bic|1967}}'s [[Rolf Wolfshohl]].{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=231}} Merckx drew clear as the race approached Mont Faron, with Simpson following. They stayed together until the finish in [[Hyères]], with Simpson allowing Merckx to take first place. Simpson finished over a minute ahead of Wolfshohl, putting him in the race leader's white jersey.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sidwells |first=Chris |title=Paris–Nice 1967 – Part 4 |url=http://www.chrissidwells.com/archive/Paris-Nice-1967-4.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185929/http://www.chrissidwells.com/archive/Paris-Nice-1967-4.html |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=29 October 2016  |url-status=dead |work=ChrisSidwells.com |date=March 2012 }}</ref> He held the lead in the next two stages to win the race.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=232}} Three days later Simpson and Merckx both raced in [[1967 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]].<ref name="MSR67">{{cite web|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Milan-San%20Remo/1967-milan-san-remo.html|title=1967 Milano&nbsp;— San Remo|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=3 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610070044/http://bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Milan-San%20Remo/1967-milan-san-remo.html|archive-date=10 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Simpson escaped early in a five-rider breakaway lasting about {{convert|220|km|0|abbr=on}}, before Merckx won in a bunch sprint with assistance from Simpson,{{sfn|Fotheringham|2012|pp=59–60}}{{sfn|Saunders|1971|p=55}} who finished in seventieth place.<ref name="MSR67" /> After {{convert|110|mi|0|abbr=on}} of [[1967 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]], Simpson's bike was unridable and he retired from the race.<ref name="tragic-day" />

In late April Simpson rode in his first [[1967 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]], using the eighteen-stage race to prepare for the Tour. During stage two a breakaway group gained over thirteen minutes, dashing his hopes for a high placing. Simpson nearly quit the race before the fifth stage, from Salamanca to Madrid, but rode it because it was easier to get home by air from Madrid. He won the stage, attacking from a breakaway,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=233–234}} and finished second in stage seven.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1967/05/04/pagina-9/944143/pdf.html#&mode=fullScreen|format=PDF|title=Clasificacions|language=es|trans-title=Classifications|newspaper=[[Mundo Deportivo]]|page=9|date=4 May 1967|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030075647/http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1967/05/04/pagina-9/944143/pdf.html#&mode=fullScreen|archive-date=30 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On the eleventh stage, concluding in Andorra, Simpson rode away from the peloton on his own. With {{convert|30|km|1|abbr=on}} remaining, he began to lose control of his bike and was halted by Peugeot manager Gaston Plaud until he had recovered, by which time the race had passed.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=217–218}} In an interview with ''L'Équipe'''s Philippe Brunel in February 2000,{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=156}} Tour de France physician [[Pierre Dumas]] revealed that Simpson told him that he was taken to hospital during the Vuelta.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=167}} Simpson won stage sixteen, which ended in San Sebastián,{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=233–234}} and finished the Vuelta thirty-third overall.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1967/05/15/pagina-9/937779/pdf.html#&mode=fullScreen|format=PDF|title=Clasificacions|language=es|trans-title=Classifications|newspaper=[[Mundo Deportivo]]|page=9|date=15 May 1967|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030140325/http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1967/05/15/pagina-9/937779/pdf.html#&mode=fullScreen|archive-date=30 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Simpson was determined to make an impact in the Tour de France; in his eighth year as a professional cyclist, he hoped for larger appearance fees in post-Tour criteriums to help secure his financial future after retirement.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=237–238}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=130–131}} His plan was to finish in the top three, or to wear the yellow jersey at some point in the race. He targeted three key stages, one of which was the thirteenth, over [[Mont Ventoux]], and planned to ride conservatively until the race reached the mountains.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=239}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=28–29}}{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|pp=27–28}} In the prologue, Simpson finished thirteenth.<ref name="tragic-day" /> After the first week he was in sixth place overall, leading the favourites.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=244}} As the race crossed the Alps, Simpson fell ill, across the Col du Galibier, with diarrhoea and stomach pains.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=179}} Unable to eat, he finished stage ten in 16th place and dropped to seventh overall as his rivals passed him.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=244}}<ref name="letour-1967tdf-10">{{cite web|title=Stage 10 Divonne > Briançon|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1000/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819053821/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1000/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=28 May 2015}}</ref> Teammate Vin Denson advised Simpson to limit his losses and accept what he had.<ref name="haunts" /> He placed in 39th position on stage 11 and 7th on stage 12.<ref name="letour-1967tdf-11">{{cite web|title=Stage 11 Briançon > Digne|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1100/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819053823/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1100/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=28 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="letour-1967tdf-12">{{cite web|title=Stage 12 Digne > Marseille|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1200/etape.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819054558/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1967/1200/etape.html|archive-date=19 August 2010|access-date=28 May 2015}}</ref> In Marseille, on the evening before stage thirteen, Simpson's manager, Daniel Dousset, pressured him for good results.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=131}} Plaud begged Simpson to quit the race.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=217}}
{{clear}}

==Death==
{{main|Death of Tom Simpson}}
[[File:Mont Ventoux 3 by JM Rosier.jpg|thumb|alt=Forested mountain, with white peak|Simpson collapsed one kilometre from the summit of the {{convert|1912|m|ft|abbr=on}}-high [[Mont Ventoux]].]]
The thirteenth stage (13 July) of the 1967 Tour de France measured {{convert|211.5|km|1|abbr=on}}; it started in Marseille, crossing Mont Ventoux (the "Giant of Provence") before finishing in Carpentras.<ref name="bri-1967tdf">{{cite web|title=1967 Tour de France|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1967.html|work=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|location=Cherokee Village, AR|access-date=27 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603032242/http://bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1967.html|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> At dawn, Tour doctor Pierre Dumas met journalist Pierre Chany near his hotel. Dumas noted the warm temperature, "If the boys stick their nose in a 'topette' [bag of drugs] today, we could have a death on our hands."<ref name="martyr">{{cite news|last=Woodland|first=Les|title=Simpson: martyr, example, warning|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/?id=/features/2007/woodland_simpson_tour07|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]|location=Bath, UK|access-date=27 April 2013|date=21 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521184828/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/?id=%2Ffeatures%2F2007%2Fwoodland_simpson_tour07|archive-date=21 May 2013|url-status=live|ref=none}}</ref> At the start line, a journalist noticed Simpson looked tired and asked him if the heat was the problem. Simpson replied, "No, it's not the heat, it's the Tour."{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=28}}

As the race reached the lower slopes of Ventoux, Simpson's team mechanic [[Harry Hall (cyclist)|Harry Hall]], witnessed Simpson, still ill, putting the lid back on his water bottle as he exited a building. Race ''[[Commissaire (cycling)|commissaire]]'' (official) Jacques Lohmuller later confirmed to Hall that he also saw the incident and that Simpson was putting [[brandy]] in his bottle.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=30–31}}{{refn|Alcohol was used as a stimulant and to dull pain.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=vi}} At the time, the Tour de France organisers limited each rider to four ''[[Glossary of cycling#bidon|bidons]]'' (bottles) of water, about two litres, two on the bike and two more given at feeding stations&nbsp;– the effects of dehydration being poorly understood. During races, riders raided roadside bars for drinks, and filled their bottles from fountains.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=179}}<ref name="water-rules">{{cite news|last=Woodland|first=Les|title=The chasse à la canette|url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/features.php?id=features/2007/woodland_waterrules07|publisher=[[Future plc]]|location=Bath, UK|access-date=27 April 2013|date=3 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619145848/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/features.php?id=features%2F2007%2Fwoodland_waterrules07|archive-date=19 June 2013|url-status=live|ref=none}}</ref>|group=n|name=drink}} Near the summit of Ventoux, the peloton began to fracture. Simpson was in the front group before slipping back to a group of chasers about a minute behind. He then began losing control of his bike, zig-zagging across the road.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|pp=28–29}}{{refn|Zig-zagging on an ascent is a way of lessening the gradient.|group=n|name=zigzag}} A kilometre from the summit, Simpson fell off his bike. Team manager Alec Taylor and Hall arrived in the team car to help him. Hall tried to persuade Simpson to stop, saying: "Come on Tom, that's it, that's your Tour finished", but Simpson said he wanted to continue. Taylor said, "If Tom wants to go on, he goes". Noticing his toe straps were still undone, Simpson said, "Me straps, Harry, me straps!" They got him on his bike and pushed him off. Simpson's last words, as remembered by Hall, were "On, on, on."{{refn|"Put me back on my bike!" was invented by Sid Saltmarsh, who was covering the Tour for ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' and ''Cycling'' (now ''[[Cycling Weekly]]''). Saltmarsh was not there at the time, and was in a dead reception zone for live accounts on Radio Tour.{{sfn|Woodland|2007|p=334}}|group=n|name=put}} Hall estimated Simpson rode a further {{convert|500|yd|0|abbr=on}} before he began to wobble,{{refn|A ''[[Daily Mail]]'' reporter, [[J. L. Manning]], went to the location of Simpson's death later and found two piles of stones {{convert|420|yd|0|abbr=on}} apart, both with notes attached; the first read: "Tom Simpson fell", and the second: "Here Tom Simpson died tragically on the 13th stage of the Tour de France".{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=222}}|group=n|name=stones}} and was held upright by spectators; he was unconscious, with his hands locked on the handlebars.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=33–36}} Hall and a nurse from the Tour's medical team took turns giving Simpson [[Artificial ventilation|mouth-to-mouth resuscitation]], before Dumas arrived with an oxygen mask.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=248}} Approximately forty minutes after his collapse, a police helicopter took Simpson to nearby Avignon hospital,{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=186}}<ref name="guardian-1967">{{cite news|last=Nicholson|first=Geoffrey|title=Simpson dies after collapse on Tour|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jul/14/archive-1967-simpson-death-tour-de-france|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|publisher=[[Guardian Media Group|GMG]]|location=London|access-date=30 April 2013|date=14 July 1967|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207142448/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jul/14/archive-1967-simpson-death-tour-de-france|archive-date=7 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> where he was pronounced dead at 5:40&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="haunts" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=248}} Two empty tubes and a half-full one of [[amphetamine]]s, one of which was labelled "Tonedron", were found in the rear pocket of his jersey.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=167}} The official cause of death was "heart failure caused by exhaustion."{{sfn|Mehlman|2009|p=125}}

{{Quote box
| align = left
| width = 25%
| quote = Tommy Simpson rode to his death in the Tour de France so doped that he did not know he had reached the limit of his endurance. He died in the saddle, slowly asphyxiated by intense effort in a heatwave after taking methylamphetamine drugs and alcoholic stimulants.
| source = ''[[Daily Mail]]'' reporter, [[J. L. Manning]], broke the news that drugs were involved in Simpson's death, 31 July 1967.<ref name="age">{{cite news|title=Drugs killed Tour cyclist|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iBZVAAAAIBAJ&pg=736%2C173634|work=[[The Age]]|publisher=[[David Syme]]|date=1 August 1967|location=Melbourne|page=24|via=[[Google News]]}}</ref>
}}
On the next racing day, the other riders were reluctant to continue racing and asked the organisers for a postponement. France's Stablinski suggested that the race continue, with a British rider, whose team would wear black armbands, allowed to win the stage.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=90–91}} Hoban won the stage, although many thought the stage winner should have been Denson, Simpson's close friend.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=6}} Media reports suggested that his death was caused by [[heat exhaustion]],<ref>{{cite news|title=U.K. Cyclist Dies Of Exhaustion|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O7EtAAAAIBAJ&pg=4529%2C2402116|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=14 July 1967|page=26|via=[[Google News]]}}</ref> until, on 31 July 1967 British journalist [[J. L. Manning]] of the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' broke the news about a formal connection between drugs and Simpson's death.<ref name="age" /> French authorities confirmed that Simpson had traces of amphetamine in his body, impairing his judgement and allowing him to push himself beyond his limits.{{sfn|Houlihan|2002|p=65}} His death contributed to the introduction of mandatory testing for performance-enhancing drugs in cycling, leading to tests in 1968 at the [[1968 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]], [[1968 Tour de France|Tour de France]] and [[1968 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]].{{sfn|Mazanov|2013|p=7}}{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=32}} Simpson was buried in Harworth Cemetery, after a service at the 12th-century village church attended by an estimated 5,000 mourners,<ref name="don-fp" />{{sfn|Woodland|2007|p=334}} including Peugeot teammate Eddy Merckx, the only continental rider in attendance.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=194}} The [[epitaph]] on Simpson's gravestone in Harworth cemetery reads, "His body ached, his legs grew tired, but still he would not give in", taken from a card left by his brother, Harry, following his death.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=83}}

==Doping==
Unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Simpson was open about the use of drugs in professional cycling. In 1960, interviewed by [[Chris Brasher]] for ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper, Simpson spoke about his understanding of how riders could beat him, saying: "I know from the way they ride the next day they are taking dope. I don't want to have to take it&nbsp;– I have too much respect for my body." Two years before his death, Simpson hinted in the newspaper, ''[[The Sunday People|The People]]'', at drug-taking in races, although he implied that he himself was not involved.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=148–149}} Asked about drugs by [[Eamonn Andrews]] on the BBC [[Home Service]] radio network, Simpson did not deny taking them; however, he said that a rider who frequently took drugs might get to the top but would not stay there.<ref name="british-tommy">{{cite AV media|title=Death of a British Tommy|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a5e8d5af1b334708b4de2f3a45829598|access-date=3 June 2015|first=Les (host)|last=Woodland|publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]]|date=4 July 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611185739/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a5e8d5af1b334708b4de2f3a45829598|archive-date=11 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his biography of Simpson, ''Put Me Back on My Bike'', [[William Fotheringham]] quoted Alan Ramsbottom as saying, "Tom went on the [1967] Tour de France with one suitcase for his kit and another with his stuff, drugs and recovery things", which Fotheringham said was confirmed by Simpson's roommate [[Colin Lewis]]. Ramsbottom added, "Tom took a lot of chances. He took a lot of it [drugs]. I remember him taking a course of [[strychnine]] to build up to some big event. He showed me the box, and had to take one every few days."{{refn|Strychnine is one of the oldest drugs used in cycling.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=vi}} In small quantities it tightens the muscles.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sherrington|first1=C. S.|author-link1=Charles Scott Sherrington|title=Strychnine and reflex inhibition of skeletal muscle|journal=The Journal of Physiology|date=29 November 1907|volume=36|issue=2–3|pages=185–204|doi=10.1113/jphysiol.1907.sp001228|pmid=16992901|pmc=1533557}}</ref>|group=n|name=strychnine}} although he implied that other competitors were involved. Lewis recalled Simpson acquiring a small box at their hotel. Simpson explained to him: "That's my year's supply of [[Mickey Finn (drugs)|Micky Finns]]'. That lot cost me £800."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=141–143}}

Commentator and Simpson's close friend David Saunders stated in his 1971 book, ''Cycling in the Sixties'', that although he did not condone Simpson's use of drugs, he thought it was not the reason for his death. He said: "I am quite convinced that Simpson killed himself because he just did not know when to stop. All his racing life he had punished his frail body, pushing it to the limits of endurance with his tremendous will-power and single-mindedness and, on Mont Ventoux, he pushed it too far, perhaps the drug easing the pain of it all." Saunders went on to say that Simpson was not alone in the taking of drugs in professional cycling and that the authorities ignored their use. His opinion was that Simpson did not take drugs to gain an unfair advantage, but because "he was not going to be beaten by a pill".{{sfn|Saunders|1971|pp=74–75}}

==Riding style and legacy==
Simpson in his adolescence was described as fearsome in descent by fellow Scala Wheelers club member George Shaw, who explained that if Simpson dropped behind on a climb, he would come back on the descent.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=48–50}} Simpson's risk-taking on descents was evident throughout his career, crashing in four out of the seven Tours de France he competed in. Track rider Norman Sheil recalled: "When racing on a banked velodrome, Simpson would sometimes ride up the advertising boards at the top of the bankings, [[Wall of Death]]-style, to please the crowds."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=192}} Simpson's death was attributed to his unwillingness to admit defeat ascending Mont Ventoux.<ref name="haunts" /> He described a [[near-death experience]] during a race in 1964, the Trofeo Baracchi two-man time trial, to Vin Denson, who recalled: "He said he felt peace of mind and wasn't afraid to die. He said he would have been happy dying."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=191}}

Simpson looked for any advantage over his opponents. He made his own saddle, a design which is now standard. During his time with Peugeot, he rode bikes made by Italian manufacturer [[Masi Bicycles|Masi]] that resembled [[Cycles Peugeot|Peugeots]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=24–25}} Simpson was obsessed with dieting since 1956, when he was mentored by Cyril Cartwright. Simpson understood the value of fruit and vegetables after reading ''Les Cures de jus'' by nutritionist Raymond Dextreit; during the winter, he would consume {{convert|10|lb|abbr=on}} of carrots a day. Other unusual food preferences included pigeons, duck and trout skin, raspberry leaves and garlic in large quantities.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=77–79}}

In the [[1968 Tour de France]], there was a special prize given in his honour, the Souvenir Tom Simpson, a sprint on stage 15 in the small town of [[Mirepoix, Ariège|Mirepoix]], won by the soloing [[Roger Pingeon]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wadley |first=J. B.|author-link=Jock Wadley |title=The 3000 miles race won in the last twenty minutes |magazine=[[International Cycle Sport]] |date=September 1968 |issue=5 |page=3 |url=http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/html/ics_1968-09_p03.html |access-date=7 April 2020 |publisher=Kennedy Brothers Publishing |location=Silsden, UK |issn=0020-6504 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407223144/http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/html/ics_1968-09_p03.html |archive-date=7 April 2020|via=InternationalCycleSport.com}}</ref> Winner of the race [[Jan Janssen]] said of him, "Occasionally Tommy could be annoying. When it was rolling along at 30kmh and - paf!… he’d attack. Oh leave us alone! There's still 150km to go pipe down. But often, he wanted war." Janssen went on to say, "Even in the feed zones. It's not the law, but it's not polite. Musettes (lunch bags) were up in the air there was panic and crashes. It was Simpson acting like a jerk. It didn't happen often. Occasionally I was angry at him. I’d say to him in his native English: You f*****g c**t... There were often many teams, five or six, in the same hotel together every evening. Each had their own table. And at a certain moment, Tommy walked into the restaurant like a gentleman, with a cane, bowler hat and in costume… He was like a Lord in England and the rest of us were in tracksuits. Everyone saw that, laughed, and the things he had done during the race were forgotten."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGrath |first=Andy |title=Bird on the Wire, an extract from the Tom Simpson biography |magazine=[[Rouleur (magazine)|Rouleur]] |date=September 1968 |volume=17 |issue=5 |page=3 |url=https://journal.rouleur.cc/tom-simpson-minor-major/ |access-date=8 April 2020 |publisher=Gruppo Media |location=London |issn=1752-962X}}</ref>

[[File:160922-Mont-Ventoux-01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=Cyclists on steps of mountain memorial|The memorial to Simpson ''(pictured in 2009)'' on the spot where he died on [[Mont Ventoux]] has become a [[pilgrimage]] for many cyclists.]]
A [[granite]] memorial to Simpson, with the words "Olympic medallist, world champion, British sporting ambassador", stands on the spot where he collapsed and died on Ventoux, one kilometre east of the summit.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=208}}{{sfn|Williams|Le Nevez|2007|p=83}} ''Cycling'' began a fund for a monument a week after Simpson's death, raising about £1,500. The memorial was unveiled in 1968. It has become a site of [[pilgrimage]] for cyclists, who frequently leave cycling-related objects, such as water bottles and caps, in tribute.{{sfn|Dauncey|Hare|2003|p=214}}<ref name="G260609">{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Moore (journalist)|title=British riders remember Tommy Simpson&nbsp;– a hero to some, to others the villain of the Ventoux|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jul/26/tour-de-france-tom-simpson-tributes|work=[[TheGuardian.com]]|publisher=[[Guardian Media Group|GMG]]|access-date=22 February 2013|location=London|date=26 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102204904/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jul/26/tour-de-france-tom-simpson-tributes|archive-date=2 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In nearby Bédoin, a [[Commemorative plaque|plaque]] was installed in the town square by journalists following the 1967 Tour.{{sfn|Woodland|2007|p=265}} The Harworth and Bircotes Sports and Social Club has a small museum dedicated to Simpson, opened by Belgian cyclist [[Lucien Van Impe]] in August 2001.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=13}}{{sfn|Woodland|2007|p=334}} In 1997, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death, a small plaque was added to the Mont Ventoux memorial, with the words "There is no mountain too high. Your daughters Jane and Joanne, July 13, 1997", and a replica of the memorial was erected outside the museum.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=108}} In his adopted hometown of Ghent, there is a [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] of Simpson at the entrance to the [[Kuipke|Kuipke velodrome]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=133}} Every year since his death, the Tom Simpson Memorial Race has taken place in Harworth.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=14}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Cyclists flock to Harworth for Tommy Simpson races|url=http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/sport/local-sport/cyclists-flock-to-harworth-for-tommy-simpson-races-1-5785625|work=Worksop Guardian|publisher=[[Johnston Press]]|access-date=10 July 2013|location=London|date=23 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102170044/http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/sport/local-sport/cyclists-flock-to-harworth-for-tommy-simpson-races-1-5785625|archive-date=2 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ray Pascoe, a fan, made the 1995 film ''Something To Aim At'', a project he began in the years following Simpson's death; the film includes interviews with those closest to Simpson.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=1–4}} The 2005 documentary ''Wheels Within Wheels'' follows actor [[Simon Dutton]] as he searches for people and places in Simpson's life. Dutton's four-year project chronicles the [[midlife crisis]] that sparked his quest to rediscover Simpson.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Saint on Wheels |url=http://www.lesliecharteris.com/07_news.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610070128/http://www.lesliecharteris.com/07_news.htm |archive-date=10 June 2015 |access-date=29 October 2016  |url-status=dead |work=LeslieCharteris.com |date=29 March 2007 }}</ref> British rider [[David Millar]] won stage twelve of the [[2012 Tour de France]] on the 45th anniversary of Simpson's death; previously banned from cycling for using performance-enhancing drugs, he paid tribute to Simpson and reinforced the importance of learning from his&nbsp;– and Simpson's&nbsp;– mistakes.<ref name="scotsman">{{cite news|title=Tom Simpson: Forgotten by all but one|url=http://www.scotsman.com/sport/tom-simpson-forgotten-by-all-but-one-1-1354567|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|publisher=[[Johnston Press]]|access-date=21 May 2013|location=Edinburgh|date=18 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221819/http://www.scotsman.com/sport/tom-simpson-forgotten-by-all-but-one-1-1354567|archive-date=2 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Millar wrote the introduction for a reissue of Simpson's autobiography, ''Cycling Is My Life'', published in 2009.<ref name="scotsman"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bicycling.com/david-millars-uphill-win/page/0/1|title=David Millar's Uphill Win|first=Jen|last=See|work=[[Bicycling (magazine)|Bicycling]]|publisher=[[Rodale, Inc.]]|location=[[Emmaus, Pennsylvania]]|date=13 July 2012|access-date=29 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529111830/http://www.bicycling.com/david-millars-uphill-win/page/0/1|archive-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> In 2010, Simpson was inducted into the [[British Cycling Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=British Cycling Hall of Fame&nbsp;– 2010 Inductees|url=http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/50th-anni/article/bcst-British-Cycling-Hall-of-Fame-2010-Inductees|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509081655/http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/50th-anni/article/bcst-British-Cycling-Hall-of-Fame-2010-Inductees|archive-date=9 May 2013|access-date=29 October 2016|url-status=dead|work=[[British Cycling]]}}</ref> He inspired ''Simpson Magazine'', which began in March 2013. According to the magazine's creators, “It was Simpson's spirit and style, his legendary tenacity and his ability to suffer that endeared him to cycling fans everywhere as much as the trophies he won.”<ref>{{cite news|last=MacMichael|first=Simon|title=New cycling magazine Simpson launches this week|url=http://road.cc/content/news/77098-new-cycling-magazine-simpson-launches-week|work=road.cc|publisher=Farrelly Atkinson|access-date=19 May 2013|location=Bath, UK|date=27 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204024408/http://road.cc/content/news/77098-new-cycling-magazine-simpson-launches-week|archive-date=4 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Family and interests==
Soon after moving to France in 1959, Simpson met Helen Sherburn.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=69}} They married in 1961,{{sfn|Pierre|1967|p=28}} before moving to Ghent, Belgium, the following year.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=117}} They had two daughters, Jane (born April 1962) and Joanne (born May 1963),{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=79}} who were brought up, and live, in Belgium.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=134–135}} After his death, Helen Simpson married Barry Hoban in December 1969.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=85}} Simpson is the maternal uncle of retired Belgian-Australian cyclist [[Matthew Gilmore]], whose father, [[Graeme Gilmore|Graeme]], was also a cyclist.<ref name="sports-reference" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Matt Gilmore retires|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/matt-gilmore-retires|access-date=9 June 2015|work=[[Cyclingnews.com]]|publisher=[[Future plc]]|date=22 April 2009|location=Bath, UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610225608/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/matt-gilmore-retires|archive-date=10 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2000 book ''Mr. Tom: The True Story of Tom Simpson'', written by Simpson's nephew, Chris Sidwells, focuses on his career and family life.{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=iv}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=16}}

Simpson spoke fluent [[French language|French]], and was also competent in [[Flemish dialects|Flemish]] and [[Italian language|Italian]].{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=97}} He was interested in [[vintage car]]s, and his driving and riding styles were similar; Helen remembered, "Driving through the [[West End of London]] at {{convert|60|mph|0|abbr=on}}, was nothing."{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=72–73}} In January 1966, Simpson was a guest castaway on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''; his favourite musical piece was "Ari's Theme" from ''[[Exodus (1960 film)|Exodus]]'' by the [[London Festival Orchestra]], his book choice was ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'' and his luxury item was golf equipment.<ref>{{cite episode|last=Plomley|first=Roy (host)|author-link=Roy Plomley|title=Castaway: Tommy Simpson|series=[[Desert Island Discs]]|date=31 January 1966|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009y3p8|station=[[BBC Radio 4]]|network=[[BBC]]|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203171944/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009y3p8|archive-date=3 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Helen said that she chose his records for the show, since he was not interested in music.{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|p=79}} Simpson's autobiography, ''Cycling Is My Life'', was first published in 1966.{{sfn|Simpson|2009|p=iv}}

==Career achievements==
===Major results===
{{anchor|Palmarès}}
Sources:<ref name="the-sports" /><ref name="memoire" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Tom Simpson|url=http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=6255|work=Cycling Archives|publisher=de Wielersite|access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|pp=249–256}}{{sfn|Fotheringham|2007|pp=229–231}}
{{colbegin|colwidth=25em}}
;1955
: 1st [[File:MaillotReinoUnido.PNG|20px|alt=|link=National cycling champion jersey]] [[British League of Racing Cyclists|BLRC]] National Junior [[Hillclimbing (cycling)|Hill Climb]] Championship
;1956
: 2nd Individual pursuit, [[British National Track Championships|Amateur National Track Championships]]
: 3rd [[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg|15px|alt=|link=Bronze medal]] [[Cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's team pursuit|Team pursuit]], [[1956 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
;1957
: 1st [[File:MaillotReinoUnido.PNG|20px|alt=|link=National cycling champion jersey]] BLRC National Hill Climb Championship
: 1st [[File:MaillotReinoUnido.PNG|20px|alt=|link=National cycling champion jersey]] Individual pursuit, [[British National Track Championships|Amateur National Track Championships]]
;1958
: 1st [[File:MaillotReinoUnido.PNG|20px|alt=|link=National cycling champion jersey]] Individual pursuit, [[British National Track Championships|Amateur National Track Championships]]
: 2nd [[File:silver medal blank.svg|15px|alt=|link=Silver medal]] [[Cycling at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's individual pursuit|Individual pursuit]], [[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
;1959 <small>(2 pro wins)</small>
: [[Tour de l'Ouest]]
::1st Stages 4 & 5b ([[Individual time trial|ITT]])
: 1st Stage 8 [[Route de France]]
: 2nd Overall [[:fr:Essor breton|Essor Breton]]
: 4th [[1959 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1957 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 4th [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Gérard Saint]])
: 5th GP Martini
: 7th [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
;1960 <small>(2)</small>
: 1st Overall [[Tour du Sud-Est]]
: 1st Stage 1b ([[Team time trial|TTT]]) [[Four Days of Dunkirk]]
: 1st [[Mont Faron]] hill climb
: 3rd Overall Genoa–Rome
::1st [[King of the Mountains|Mountains classification]]
: 7th [[1960 La Flèche Wallonne|La Flèche Wallonne]]
: 9th [[1960 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
;1961 <small>(2)</small>
: 1st [[1961 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
: 1st Stage 2 [[Euskal Bizikleta]]
: 2nd Overall Menton–Rome
::1st Points classification
: 5th Overall [[1961 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
::1st Stage 3 (TTT)
: 9th [[1961 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1961 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
;1962
: 2nd Overall [[1962 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
::1st Stage 3a (TTT)
: 2nd Overall Paris–Saint-Étienne
: 3rd [[Critérium des As]]
: 3rd [[Six Days of Madrid]] (with John Tressider)
: 5th [[1962 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
::1st Mountains classification
: 6th Overall [[1962 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::Held [[File:1962 Tour de France yellow jersey (Gitane-Leroux).svg|20px|alt=|link=General classification in the Tour de France]] after Stage 12
: 6th [[1962 Gent–Wevelgem|Gent–Wevelgem]]
;1963 <small>(3)</small>
: 1st [[Bordeaux–Paris]]
: 1st [[Manx Trophy|Isle of Man International]]
: 1st [[Grand Prix du Parisien]]
: 2nd Overall Tour du Var
::1st Stage 1
: 2nd Overall [[Super Prestige Pernod International]]
: 2nd Critérium des As
: 2nd [[1963 Gent–Wevelgem|Gent–Wevelgem]]
: 2nd [[Paris–Brussels]]
: 2nd [[De Kustpijl]]
: 2nd [[1963 Paris–Tours|Paris–Tours]]
: 3rd [[1963 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
: 8th [[1963 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 10th [[1963 La Flèche Wallonne|La Flèche Wallonne]]
: 10th [[1963 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]
;1964 <small>(2)</small>
: 1st [[1964 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]]
: 1st Stage 5 [[Tour du Sud-Est|Circuit de Provençal]]
: 2nd [[Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne]]
: 2nd Mont Faron hill climb
: 3rd [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Rudi Altig]])
: 4th [[1964 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1964 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 10th [[1964 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
;1965 <small>(2)</small>
: 1st [[File:Tom Simpson rainbow jersey.svg|20px|alt=|link=Rainbow jersey]] [[1965 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1965 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 1st [[1965 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]
: 1st London–Holyhead
: 1st [[Six Days of Brussels]] (with [[Peter Post]])
: 2nd [[Six Days of Ghent]] (with Peter Post)
: 2nd Overall Super Prestige Pernod International
: 3rd Overall [[Grand Prix du Midi Libre|Midi Libre]]
: 3rd [[1965 La Flèche Wallonne|La Flèche Wallonne]]
::1st Mountains classification
: 3rd Overall Circuit de Provençal
: 3rd Bordeaux–Paris
: 5th [[1965 Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke|Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke]]
: 6th [[1965 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 6th Circuit des Onze Villes
: 6th GP Forli
: 7th [[GP Union Dortmund]]
: 8th Overall [[Escalada a Montjuïc]]
: 10th [[1965 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
;1966
: 1st Stage 2b (TTT) Four Days of Dunkirk
: 2nd [[Six Days of Münster]] (with [[Klaus Bugdahl]])
: 2nd [[Grand Prix of Aargau Canton]]
;1967 <small>(5)</small>
: 1st [[File:Jersey white.svg|20px|alt=|link=General classification]] Overall [[1967 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
: [[1967 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]
::1st Stages 5 & 16
: 1st Isle of Man International
: 1st Stage 5 [[Giro di Sardegna]]
: 3rd [[Six Days of Antwerp]] (with [[Leo Proost]] and [[:nl:Emile Severeyns|Emile Severeyns]])
: 4th [[Trophée des Grimpeurs|Polymultipliée]]
{{colend}}

===Grand Tour general classification results timeline===

Sources:<ref name="memoire" />{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|p=27}}<ref name="ts-tdf">{{cite web|title=Tom Simpson|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/3598.html|work=The history of the Tour de France|publisher=[[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]]|location=Paris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818215940/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/3598.html|archive-date=18 August 2010|access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tour]]
! scope="col" | 1960
! scope="col" | 1961
! scope="col" | 1962
! scope="col" | 1963
! scope="col" | 1964
! scope="col" | 1965
! scope="col" | 1966
! scope="col" | 1967
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[File:Jersey yellow.svg|20px|alt=|link=List of Vuelta a España general classification winners]] [[List of Vuelta a España general classification winners|Vuelta a España]]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| [[1967 Vuelta a España|33]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[File:Jersey pink.svg|20px|alt=|link=General classification in the Giro d'Italia]] [[General classification in the Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[File:Jersey yellow.svg|20px|alt=|link=General classification in the Tour de France]] [[General classification in the Tour de France|Tour de France]]
| [[1960 Tour de France|29]]
| [[1961 Tour de France|DNF]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1962 Tour de France|6]]
| —
| [[1964 Tour de France|14]]
| [[1965 Tour de France|DNF]]
| [[1966 Tour de France|DNF]]
| [[1967 Tour de France|DNF]]
|}

===Monuments results timeline===

Sources:<ref name="1959-lombardia" /><ref name="the-sports" /><ref name="memoire" />{{sfn|Sidwells|2000|p=216}}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
![[Cycling monument|Monument]]
! scope="col" | 1959
! scope="col" | 1960
! scope="col" | 1961
! scope="col" | 1962
! scope="col" | 1963
! scope="col" | 1964
! scope="col" | 1965
! scope="col" | 1966
! scope="col" | 1967
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Milan–San Remo]]
| —
| [[1960 Milan–San Remo|38]]
| [[1961 Milan–San Remo|25]]
| —
| [[1962 Milan–San Remo|19]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1964 Milan–San Remo|'''1''']]
| [[1965 Milan–San Remo|DNF]]
| —
| [[1967 Milan–San Remo|70]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Tour of Flanders]]
| —
| —
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1961 Tour of Flanders|'''1''']]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1962 Tour of Flanders|5]]
| style="background:#C9AE5D;"|[[1963 Tour of Flanders|'''3''']]
| —
| —
| —
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Paris–Roubaix]]
| —
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1960 Paris–Roubaix|9]]
| [[1961 Paris–Roubaix|88]]
| [[1962 Paris–Roubaix|37]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1963 Paris–Roubaix|8]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1964 Paris–Roubaix|10]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1965 Paris–Roubaix|6]]
| —
| [[1967 Paris–Roubaix|DNF]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
| —
| [[1960 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|11]]
| —
| —
| [[1963 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|33]]
| —
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1965 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|10]]
| [[1966 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|DNF]]
| —
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Giro di Lombardia]]
| [[1959 Giro di Lombardia|DNF]]
| [[1960 Giro di Lombardia|84]]
| —
| —
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1963 Giro di Lombardia|10]]
| [[1964 Giro di Lombardia|21]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1965 Giro di Lombardia|'''1''']]
| —
| —
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Legend
|-
! scope="row" | —
| Did not compete
|-
! scope="row" | [[Did not finish|DNF]]
| Did not finish
|}

===Awards and honours===
* [[British Cycling|British Cycling Federation]] Personality of the Year: 1962, 1965
* [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award|BBC Sports Personality of the Year]]: 1965
* [[Frederick Thomas Bidlake|Bidlake]] Memorial Prize: 1965
* ''[[Daily Express]]'' Sportsman of the Year: 1965
* [[Freedom of the City|Freedom]] of [[Sint-Amandsberg]]: 1965
* [[Sports Journalists' Association]] Sportsman of the Year: 1965
* [[British Cycling Hall of Fame]]: 2010

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Sports|Olympics}}
* [[List of British cyclists]]
* [[List of British cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification]]
* [[List of Desert Island Discs episodes (1961–70)]]
* [[List of doping cases in cycling]]
* [[List of Olympic medalists in cycling (men)]]
* [[List of cyclists with a cycling-related death]]
* [[Yellow jersey statistics]]

==Notes and references==

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|60em|group=n}}

===References===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last1=Dauncey | last2=Hare | first1=Hugh | first2=Geoff | title=The Tour De France, 1903–2003: A Century of Sporting Structures, Meanings and Values | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54pAJY6Ix8YC | year=2003 | publisher=[[Frank Cass & Co]] | location=London | isbn=978-0-203-50241-9 }}
* {{cite book | last=Fotheringham | first=William | author-link=William Fotheringham | title=A Century of Cycling: The Classic Races and Legendary Champions | url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofcycling0000foth | url-access=registration | year=2003 | publisher=[[Mitchell Beazley]] | location=London | isbn=978-0-7603-1553-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Fotheringham | first=William | title=Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83DH3xnEpHcC | year=2007 | orig-year=1st. pub. 2002 | publisher=Yellow Jersey Press | location=London | isbn=978-0-224-08018-7 }}
* {{cite book | last=Fotheringham | first=William | title=Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZvum2iHSB4C | year=2012 | publisher=Yellow Jersey Press | location=London | isbn=978-0-224-09195-4 }}
* {{cite book | last=Henderson | first=Jon | title=Best of British: Hendo's Sporting Heroes | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YYwthQmXtqcC | year=2011 | publisher=Yellow Jersey Press | location=London | isbn=978-1-4481-1341-5 }}
* {{cite book | last=Houlihan | first=Barrie | title=Dying to Win: Doping in Sport And the Development of Anti-doping Policy, Part 996 | edition=2nd | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9NNzoV5eSUC | year=2002 | publisher=[[Council of Europe]] | location=Strasbourg, France| isbn=978-92-871-4685-4 }}
* {{cite book | last=Mazanov | first=Jason | title=Towards a Social Science of Drugs in Sport | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATfcAAAAQBAJ | year=2013 | publisher=[[Routledge]] | location=London | isbn=978-1-317-98454-2 }}
* {{cite book | last1=McGann | last2=McGann | first1=Bill | first2=Carol | title=The Story of the Tour De France, Volume 1: 1903–1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxq20JskqMUC | year=2006 | publisher=Dog Ear Publishing | location=Indianapolis, IN | isbn=978-1-59858-180-5 }}
* {{cite book | last1=McGann | last2=McGann | first1=Bill | first2=Carol | title=The Story of the Tour De France, Volume 2: 1965–2007 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8mlwItBhhcC | year=2008 | publisher=Dog Ear Publishing | location=Indianapolis, IN | isbn=978-1-59858-608-4 }}
* {{cite book | last=Mehlman | first=Maxwell J. | title=The Price of Perfection: Individualism and Society in the Era of Biomedical Enhancement | url=https://archive.org/details/priceofperfectio0000mehl | url-access=registration | year=2009 | publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press|JHU Press]] | location=Baltimore, MD | isbn=978-0-8018-9538-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Pierre | first=Roger St. | title=Tom Simpson: An 80 Page Picture Tribute to Britain's Greatest Ever Road Cycling Champion | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcFTnQEACAAJ | year=1967 | publisher=[[Daily Mirror]] | location=London }}
* {{cite book | last=Saunders | first=David | title=Cycling in the Sixties | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NzrWAAAACAAJ | year=1971 | publisher=Pelham Books | location=London | isbn=978-0-7207-0456-3 }}
* {{cite book | last=Sidwells | first=Chris | title=Mr Tom: True Story of Tom Simpson | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UWTLPgAACAAJ| year= 2000 | publisher=Mousehold Press | location=Norwich, UK  | isbn=978-1-874739-14-2 }}
* {{cite book | last=Simpson | first=Tommy | title=Cycling is My Life | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftxRPwAACAAJ | year=2009 | orig-year=1st. pub. [[Stanley Paul]]:1966 | publisher=Yellow Jersey Press | location=London | isbn=978-0-224-08308-9 }}
* {{cite book | last=Wilcockson | first=John | author-link=John Wilcockson | title=Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZenoNG9rGQC | year=2009| publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] | location=Cambridge, MA | isbn=978-0-7867-4805-1 }}
* {{cite book | last1=Williams | last2=Le Nevez | first1=Nicola | first2=Catherine | title=Provence and the Côte d'Azur | edition=5th | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QO5ijIGPH0kC | year=2007 | orig-year=1st. pub. 1999 | publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] | location=Melbourne | isbn=978-1-74104-236-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Woodland | first=Les | title=The Yellow Jersey Companion to the Tour de France | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QdMSjfvjDhUC | year=2007 | orig-year=1st. pub. 2003 | publisher=Yellow Jersey Press | location=London | isbn=978-0-224-08016-3 }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last=McGrath | first=Andy | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ueRLtAEACAAJ | title=Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire | year=2017 | publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | location=London | isbn=978-1-4729-4920-2 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tom Simpson (cyclist)|Tom Simpson}}
* {{sports links}}
* {{find a Grave|6621069}}

{{S-start-collapsible|header={{s-sports}}}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Jo de Roo]]
| title  = Winner of [[Bordeaux–Paris]]
| after  = [[Michel Nédélec]]
| years  = 1963
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Jacques Anquetil]]
| title  = Winner of [[Paris–Nice]]
| after  = [[Rolf Wolfshohl]]
| years  = 1967
}}
{{s-end}}

{{UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race}}
{{Milan–San Remo winners}}
{{Tour of Flanders winners}}
{{Giro di Lombardia winners}}
{{British Cycling Hall of Fame}}
{{BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Tom}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
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