In the last hour of his life, Tom Simpson steels himself for the challenge of Mont Ventoux. He never reached the summit
PRESS ASSOCIATION
You didn’t need to be a cycling aficionado to know that the rider was in trouble. His bike was zigzagging back and forth across the narrow road cut into the mountainside, pinballing between bank and precipice.
In the support car behind him, both his team manager and mechanic sprang into action. The intense heat of southern France in July hit them as they charged out of their car and towards the ailing rider. The mercury had reached 55°C that day on the fearsome Mont Ventoux, on the 13th stage of the 1967 Tour de France.