Tour de France cyclist died after drug binge that opened the world's eyes to doping dangers
'Tom Simpson is arguably the most complete British road cyclist of all time,' Sir Bradley Wiggins wrote about the iconic Brit in his book Icons.
Simpson became the first British cyclist to don the yellow jersey in 1962 and was World Road Race champion in 1965.
Prior to his Tour de France success, he also won a bronze medal for track cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics followed by a silver at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Success saw Simpson named Sports Personality of the Year in the same year he donned the famous yellow jersey.
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However, Simpson tragically lost his life in the 1967 Tour de France; a death that opened the world’s eyes to the dangers of doping in cycling.
The link between doping and Simpson's death
The official cause of Simpson’s death was 'heart failure caused by exhaustion' until British journalist J. L. Manning broke the news about a formal connection between drugs and Simpson’s death in July 1967.
As such, the cause of Simpson’s passing was changed due to a combination of exertion in extreme heat and amphetamines.
Simpson was known to be open about the use drugs in professional cycling, telling Chris Brasher of the Observer in 1960: “I know from the way they ride the next day they are taking dope. I don't want to have to take it – I have too much respect for my body.”
However, when asked by Eamonn Andrews of the BBC, however, Simpson did not deny taking drugs.
William Fotheringham quoted Alan Ramsbottom, in the former’s biography of Simpson, 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. 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.”
Mandatory drug testing implemented
Simpson’s death, though, contributed towards the mandatory testing for performance enhancing drugs in cycling, leading to tests in the Tour de France, the Olympics and the Giro d’Italia the following year.
Mandatory testing isn’t the only rule change to have come into force for the Tour de France, with the UCI recently implementing their yellow card system.
The system, dubbed ‘cycling’s VAR’, means riders can be banned for up to 14 days if they receive three yellow cards in the space of 30 days.
Yellow cards can be dished out for a number of offences, including assault, threats, improper conduct and celebrating a teammate’s success.
The 112th edition of the Tour de France started on Saturday, as Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen claimed first in Stage One, and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel winning Stage Two.
The 178.3km Stage Three kicks off in Valenciennes on Monday.
Topics: Cycling, Tour De France
Ben McAleer