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Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson
The cyclist Tom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death on the barren moonscape of the Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour. Almost 35 years on, hundreds of fans still make the pilgrimage to the windswept memorial which marks the spot where he died. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper "Major Tom" inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. This is an authoritative evaluation of Simpson's death, and of the life that led to it, revisiting the places and people associated with him.
219 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
June 29, 2019
I cannot believe that this book has been sitting by my bed for almost a year, hmm. Anyway I was only on page 15 I think, so it didn't take me long to get back up to speed with Tom Simpson.
William Fotheringham has written a good book here, but, and there is a but, it seemed to me to go on far too long.
I am, and have been for many years, a keen cycling fan, and have followed the major races for more years than I can remember. Maybe this all stems from my father being a keen amateur rider who actually overlapped in terms of career with Tom Simpson, although my father was coming to the end of his career as Tom was just beginning.
Anyway this book dwells on the enigma that was Tom Simpson, a man driven to extremes in his performance, a man who was for many years the best British cyclist (some of his records have only recently been surpassed by the likes of David Millar, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas), a man who had a vision for British cycling that has only just come to pass 50 years later, a man who unfortunately succumbed to the pressure of the time to race with medicinal assistance, to such an extent that he paid the ultimate price, by dying on Mont Ventoux in the 1967 TdF.
Yes it was really interesting but there is only so much one can say about this man who led the way for British cycling, and even the updated last chapter in 12 years old so way out of date, given that Lance Armstrong is still a hero and no-one has heard of Bradley Wiggins.
So all in all an interesting book, but unless you are a real fan of British cycling, I wouldn't bother if I'm honest. Read something more modern.
William Fotheringham has written a good book here, but, and there is a but, it seemed to me to go on far too long.
I am, and have been for many years, a keen cycling fan, and have followed the major races for more years than I can remember. Maybe this all stems from my father being a keen amateur rider who actually overlapped in terms of career with Tom Simpson, although my father was coming to the end of his career as Tom was just beginning.
Anyway this book dwells on the enigma that was Tom Simpson, a man driven to extremes in his performance, a man who was for many years the best British cyclist (some of his records have only recently been surpassed by the likes of David Millar, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas), a man who had a vision for British cycling that has only just come to pass 50 years later, a man who unfortunately succumbed to the pressure of the time to race with medicinal assistance, to such an extent that he paid the ultimate price, by dying on Mont Ventoux in the 1967 TdF.
Yes it was really interesting but there is only so much one can say about this man who led the way for British cycling, and even the updated last chapter in 12 years old so way out of date, given that Lance Armstrong is still a hero and no-one has heard of Bradley Wiggins.
So all in all an interesting book, but unless you are a real fan of British cycling, I wouldn't bother if I'm honest. Read something more modern.
August 1, 2011
Fotheringham is an excellent sports journalist, and his knowledge of the arcane world of professional cycling is evident in this book. Two quibbles: in tackling the question of drug use in cycling, he never quite manages to evoke the corps de espirit amongst the cycling fraternity which undoubtedly is at the heart of the chronic doping problem - the sense of a world where certain rules apply differently, an understanding that "what happens in the Peleton stays in the Peleton."
My other problem with the book - and I accept that this may be unfair - is that Fotheringham doesn't explore fully the issue of the immense commercial pressures that cyclists face to dope. True, he does write about the horrendously exhausting conditions that professional cyclists had to contend with in order to earn a wage in the 60s, and the relatively slender salaries all but the most successful were able to command at the time. But he has less to say about the demand from spectators, sponsors, organisers, upon the cyclists to push themselves beyond the limits of their natural abilities - and to turn all sanctimonious when doping issues emerge, as they tend to do every decade or so. I suspect that this might have made the book more balanced.
It's an interesting read for cycling enthusiasts, but less so for the general reader
My other problem with the book - and I accept that this may be unfair - is that Fotheringham doesn't explore fully the issue of the immense commercial pressures that cyclists face to dope. True, he does write about the horrendously exhausting conditions that professional cyclists had to contend with in order to earn a wage in the 60s, and the relatively slender salaries all but the most successful were able to command at the time. But he has less to say about the demand from spectators, sponsors, organisers, upon the cyclists to push themselves beyond the limits of their natural abilities - and to turn all sanctimonious when doping issues emerge, as they tend to do every decade or so. I suspect that this might have made the book more balanced.
It's an interesting read for cycling enthusiasts, but less so for the general reader
July 15, 2021
Kesäkuun loppupuolella tein pikkuisen pyöräretken Kotkaan ja vähän pidemmällekin. Viikon aikana kilometrejä jäi taakse noin 550. Lukemistonani tien päällä oli englantilaisen William Fotheringhamin "Put Me Back on My Bike" (Yellow Jersey Press, 2012). Kyseessä on elämäkerta Tom Simpsonista (1937-1967), lahjakkaasta ja kunnianhimoisesta brittipyöräilijästä, joka piiskasi itseään äärirajoille kerta toisensa jälkeen. Kaikki keinot otettiin käyttöön, aina kiellettyjä aineita myöten. Simpsonin itsensä mukaan "jos kymmenen tablettia on kuolemaksi, hän ottaa yhdeksän."
Simpson saavutti pyöräilyurallaan menestystä, mutta hinta oli hirvittävä. Vuoden 1967 Tour de Francella hänen kohtalokseen koitui Mont Ventouxin hirvittävä nousu, jonka aiheuttama fyysinen rasitus yhdistettynä alkoholin ja amfetamiinitablettien käyttöön maksoivat miehen hengen. Legendan mukaan hänen viimeiset sanansa olisivat olleet "put me back on my bike", mutta kirjassa kyllä todistetaan, ettei tämä taida pitää ainakaan sanatarkasti paikkaansa.
Fotheringham hylkää teoksessaan kronologian. Hän keskittyy kirjassaan yhtä paljon kohtalokkaan kisapäivän tapahtumiin Mont Ventouxilla kuin Simpsonin saavutuksiin ja elämänvaiheisiin. Lopputulos on jälleen laadukasta ja mukaansatempaavaa urheilukirjallisuutta; tämän ja aiemmin lukemani Fausto Coppin elämäkerran jälkeen voisi tutustua Fotheringhamin muuhunkin tuotantoon.
Simpson saavutti pyöräilyurallaan menestystä, mutta hinta oli hirvittävä. Vuoden 1967 Tour de Francella hänen kohtalokseen koitui Mont Ventouxin hirvittävä nousu, jonka aiheuttama fyysinen rasitus yhdistettynä alkoholin ja amfetamiinitablettien käyttöön maksoivat miehen hengen. Legendan mukaan hänen viimeiset sanansa olisivat olleet "put me back on my bike", mutta kirjassa kyllä todistetaan, ettei tämä taida pitää ainakaan sanatarkasti paikkaansa.
Fotheringham hylkää teoksessaan kronologian. Hän keskittyy kirjassaan yhtä paljon kohtalokkaan kisapäivän tapahtumiin Mont Ventouxilla kuin Simpsonin saavutuksiin ja elämänvaiheisiin. Lopputulos on jälleen laadukasta ja mukaansatempaavaa urheilukirjallisuutta; tämän ja aiemmin lukemani Fausto Coppin elämäkerran jälkeen voisi tutustua Fotheringhamin muuhunkin tuotantoon.
December 9, 2010
I really admired Fotheringham's balanced approach to his subject. It's sometimes too easy to give in and be defensive when you genuinely like the person you're writing about, and Simpson clearly was a likeable man.
Fotheringham kept enough distance to write about where Simpson went wrong, and how Simpson's death was a tragedy brought on not only by the amphetamines in his system, but by his determination to ride himself into oblivion, which cost him his life a short distance from the summit of Mont Ventoux.
This reader was left with a pervasive sense of loss upon finishing the book. I'd found the book remarkably moving, the prose exceptionally profound in places, and like the author himself, I found myself wishing I could spend more time in Simpson's company. Sadly, tragically, this is of course impossible.
As a result of Fotheringham's descriptive writing, his in-depth approach to his subject, and his frank honesty, I can genuinely say I will never look at Tom Simpson - or even Mont Ventoux - the same way again.
Fotheringham kept enough distance to write about where Simpson went wrong, and how Simpson's death was a tragedy brought on not only by the amphetamines in his system, but by his determination to ride himself into oblivion, which cost him his life a short distance from the summit of Mont Ventoux.
This reader was left with a pervasive sense of loss upon finishing the book. I'd found the book remarkably moving, the prose exceptionally profound in places, and like the author himself, I found myself wishing I could spend more time in Simpson's company. Sadly, tragically, this is of course impossible.
As a result of Fotheringham's descriptive writing, his in-depth approach to his subject, and his frank honesty, I can genuinely say I will never look at Tom Simpson - or even Mont Ventoux - the same way again.
September 30, 2013
Even with the updated afterward and chapters, this is essentially a very big story struggling to get out of a thin book about a man cycling up a mountain and dying at the top.
Where it gets interesting are the vignettes from Simpson's life that Fotheringham unearths, each one fleshing out the man who for most of us only exists as a memorial stone on Mount Ventoux, and few grainy photos.
What emerges is a hugely appealing personality, whose drive and ambition, tragically combined with the treadmill of professional cycling, and which contributed to his untimely death.
What's disappointing is whilst it is touched on, the bigger story lurking in the background is really about drugs in the sport and the collusion involved of the industry, which still cloud the issue 30 years on. Both of which mean whilst Fotheringham can build an intriguing narrative of Simpson's life, his death remains shrouded in murky mystery.
Where it gets interesting are the vignettes from Simpson's life that Fotheringham unearths, each one fleshing out the man who for most of us only exists as a memorial stone on Mount Ventoux, and few grainy photos.
What emerges is a hugely appealing personality, whose drive and ambition, tragically combined with the treadmill of professional cycling, and which contributed to his untimely death.
What's disappointing is whilst it is touched on, the bigger story lurking in the background is really about drugs in the sport and the collusion involved of the industry, which still cloud the issue 30 years on. Both of which mean whilst Fotheringham can build an intriguing narrative of Simpson's life, his death remains shrouded in murky mystery.
October 13, 2016
I just knew of Tom Simpson as "the English guy who died cycling up a mountain in the Tour, and he took drugs". It's a much more complex story and Fotheringham manages to tell not only Tom's story, but the story of professional cycling at that time, and you need to know about the latter to understand the former. At times it feels like the whole book is built around his death on the Ventoux, and everything seen in the context of that. It's not really, but even so it was obviously such a seismic event in the world of British and professional cycling, that it's probably warranted. Simpson has clearly been revered in British cycling circles for a long time, and others writing about Simpson have invoked all sorts of emotions in people. Fotheringham managed to write a respectful, positive, yet honest and balanced biography.
August 27, 2015
This book is excellent. You don't need to be knowledgable on cycling or medicine as it breaks everything down into layman's terms. If you don't follow the Tour de France every July, I suggest you find some footage of a stage that involves mont ventoux so you can see exactly what a beast it is.
There were a few minor irritations from the writing. Words are spelt differently (with a hyphen here, without there). Events raised in an early chapter and then in a subsequent chapter were not referenced to each other very well, as if the chapters were written separately then cut and paste together rather than flowing from start to end. They do not detract from the story not my rating but they did irritate me and I thought the editor could have done a better job.
There were a few minor irritations from the writing. Words are spelt differently (with a hyphen here, without there). Events raised in an early chapter and then in a subsequent chapter were not referenced to each other very well, as if the chapters were written separately then cut and paste together rather than flowing from start to end. They do not detract from the story not my rating but they did irritate me and I thought the editor could have done a better job.
May 30, 2016
A fascinating, well crafter, thoughtful and often moving -- but never sentimental -- book.
I think its focus is skewed, because it revolves around the circumstances of Simpson's untimely death and his legacy, to the point where childhood traits are seen as presaging his end, and indeed the entire final chapter is devoted to describing the Mont Ventoux. This is all very well when it comes to dispelling myths which have grown up, but it does often read like a long post mortem rather than the story of a remarkable man's life and I fear reads too much into the sad fact that he died before time.
I think its focus is skewed, because it revolves around the circumstances of Simpson's untimely death and his legacy, to the point where childhood traits are seen as presaging his end, and indeed the entire final chapter is devoted to describing the Mont Ventoux. This is all very well when it comes to dispelling myths which have grown up, but it does often read like a long post mortem rather than the story of a remarkable man's life and I fear reads too much into the sad fact that he died before time.
May 14, 2013
Thoroughly excellent read! Extremely well balanced account of a man who wold have split the cycling world if he were alive today! This covers the triumphs as a track pursuit cyclist and a road racer as well as the substance abuse Simpson went through to be the best and sadly led to his death on Mont Vetoux during the 1967 Tour de France. An excellent read about Britain's fist wearer of the Maillot Jaune!
February 25, 2010
A fascinating account of the life of Tommy Simpson - whose memorial on Mt Ventoux I have stood next to on over a dozen occasions - from his early life to his tragic death. Intensely driven, a desire for money overcoming any health fears, it ultimately led to a death on a lunar landscape in heat of 40degrees.
August 3, 2014
Good biography of Tom Simpson and well worth a read. As with a number of books on similar subjects recently, it's almost as much about the author's journey in finding out about his subject as it is about the subject himself. If truth be told I'm getting a bit bored with this approach, although I do understand the temptation.
May 15, 2016
Combines surgical precision when it comes to detail and at the same time it is so poetic in its admiration of Simpson and Mont Ventoux that the reader questions him/herself how is this even possible. That Mr Fotheringam achieves that in this book is no mean feat and it makes him a great journalist and author. Quite easily the best cycling book I've read so far. A classic.
May 1, 2018
An interesting look into the life and death of Tom Simpson, one of the first Brits to make it good on the European cycling scene. What I did not know was his hero status to the French and Belgians. He was adopted as one of their own.This adoration of Tommy Simpson in 1967 is not something that we see so much now among the nonEuropean riders. If you follow cycling, this is a good book.
August 6, 2018
This was a real eye-opener. I was aware of the casual drug use already but the "bottle raids" where riders would go into bars and grab bottles because otherwise they only had 4 bidons per tour stage! How about this bit of quackery: "Avoid drinking when racing, especially in hot weather. When you drink too much you will perspire and lose your strength."
July 7, 2011
Very insightful account of Tom Simpson's career and pro cycling in the sixties. It gives you a good idea of just how tough these cyclists are but also how hard some are prepared to push their limits in pursuit of success.
August 31, 2016
Interesting read. Tom becomes more human through the book, it admits to tip toeing around the amphetamines issue and being from the middle of the Armstrong years it casts the world in a light that doesn't sit true now.
Read
August 9, 2011A most interesting insight to professional cycling in the 1960's. A well written book that captures the level of expectation in the profession and competitive nature of the sport.
March 6, 2012
Disappointing really. Doesn't really live up to being a great read, but it is an interesting insight into the man Tom Simpson.
July 3, 2012
This book was interesting, giving a good insight into the foreign world of cycling in the 1960s. It focused a little too much on the drugs but was otherwise brilliant.
October 8, 2012
a superb book. read it
May 20, 2014
Fascinating recount of a fascinating, quirky and talented character. Pioneer of British cycling, inspirational. The underlying theme of drug use shows how deep and rooted the issues in cycling are.
October 11, 2018
Recommended by Rob Penn
October 13, 2015
Not strictly a full biography, more an in depth analysis of the mind of Tom Simpson and the factors that contributed to his sad demise on Mont Ventoux.
April 17, 2016
Well written, but more than a bit depressing, it gives a little insight into Lance Armstrong. Makes me glad I'm not a racer, but gives an excellent peep into the mind of one.
March 6, 2018
We’ve read about modern-day dopers — this is the rest of story.
November 17, 2018
This biography starts routinely enough and was easy to pick up and put back down. However, as I progressed, the urge to read more became greater. There is a relevancy here that has lasted.
January 21, 2022
A mesmerising read. The author has tried very hard to take an objective look at the life and tragic death of Tom Simpson, and I think he's made an excellent job of it.
That's not to say that this is an easy read, it is far from it and as the background to Simpson's life and the state of cycle racing in general is laid out it becomes clear that a tragic event is looming.
As stage 19 of the 1967 Tour de France begins the climb of the Ventoux, the combination of amphetamines, a bisteringly hot day, a lack of fluid intake and an insatiable will to win, ultimately cost Simpson his life.
Fotheringham has used all the available resources (including new interviews) to record, as far as is possible, the events that led up to Simpson's death and puts together a well reasoned argument to explain matters.
Doping was rife, and although illegal, controls were poor. Riders thought doping was an essential part of competition and as a body fought against the introduction of controls. Riders were encouraged not to take on fluids as it made them sweat more. Taking feed or fluids outside of feed zones was not permitted!
It's a tragic tale of ignorance and the will to win. Simpson was a loveable rascal and I wish he'd survived. Others who suffered similar fates did, but his luck deserted him when he really needed it.
That's not to say that this is an easy read, it is far from it and as the background to Simpson's life and the state of cycle racing in general is laid out it becomes clear that a tragic event is looming.
As stage 19 of the 1967 Tour de France begins the climb of the Ventoux, the combination of amphetamines, a bisteringly hot day, a lack of fluid intake and an insatiable will to win, ultimately cost Simpson his life.
Fotheringham has used all the available resources (including new interviews) to record, as far as is possible, the events that led up to Simpson's death and puts together a well reasoned argument to explain matters.
Doping was rife, and although illegal, controls were poor. Riders thought doping was an essential part of competition and as a body fought against the introduction of controls. Riders were encouraged not to take on fluids as it made them sweat more. Taking feed or fluids outside of feed zones was not permitted!
It's a tragic tale of ignorance and the will to win. Simpson was a loveable rascal and I wish he'd survived. Others who suffered similar fates did, but his luck deserted him when he really needed it.
July 11, 2022
This book improved as it went on and it is clear that Fotheringham uses his own experience of cycling to give life to cycling events and cycling history in a way that excites and interests lay readers like me.
It wasn't until the last third of the book that Fotheringham stopped pulling his punches in relation to Simpson's doping and the culture of doping in cycling in the 50s and 60s. I thought this section of the book looking at Simpson warts and all was the strongest part of the book. I felt the other parts of the book whilst quite good did not reach the same heights as the author was too circumspect on the matter.
The last chapters on the mountain Simpson died trying to climb and the chapter on the build up to Simpson's death, his actual death and the immediate aftermath were excellent. It feels that you are experiencing the events live for the first time and Fotheringham's writing gives life to the mountain in a way you see it as a monster and you feel as if you are with Simpson in his final hours.
The opening and middle chapters were a mix of the good and average. You get a decent picture of Simpson as a person, though at times I found the parts on his financial situation and family life a bit wooden.
A good book, which whilst not perfect I enjoyed reading. I will try other books by this author.
It wasn't until the last third of the book that Fotheringham stopped pulling his punches in relation to Simpson's doping and the culture of doping in cycling in the 50s and 60s. I thought this section of the book looking at Simpson warts and all was the strongest part of the book. I felt the other parts of the book whilst quite good did not reach the same heights as the author was too circumspect on the matter.
The last chapters on the mountain Simpson died trying to climb and the chapter on the build up to Simpson's death, his actual death and the immediate aftermath were excellent. It feels that you are experiencing the events live for the first time and Fotheringham's writing gives life to the mountain in a way you see it as a monster and you feel as if you are with Simpson in his final hours.
The opening and middle chapters were a mix of the good and average. You get a decent picture of Simpson as a person, though at times I found the parts on his financial situation and family life a bit wooden.
A good book, which whilst not perfect I enjoyed reading. I will try other books by this author.
November 17, 2020
Fotheringham intends here to see all the edges around Simpson's death. It's more complex than simple doping; we can't dismiss the rider responsabity, but also analyze his place in the system, a system plague of exploitation and insecurities. How long the chain of responsability must be extended? And it's a mistake see things from a current perspective, what we know now it's not the same they knew then, for instance about the damage these substances could cause.
The author approachs all that from the perspective of the sixties, explaining what was known then and how cycling was (related to salaries, races and criteriums, the importance of soigneurs, the abscence of the proescution of doping, etc). And makes too a resemblance of Simpson as a person, his ambitions, his personality, his emotional baggage.
I think he pays too much attention to Mont Ventoux ending the book, since it seems to focus more importance on the ascent, moving it away from the cyclist. And this is not the place to analyze the climb, but the place to tell how professional cycling is and were, the pressure cyclists have to decide whether embrace this world or not. The latter is the most interesant of this book, along with the consecuencies that Simpon's death had in the subsequent fight against doping.
The author approachs all that from the perspective of the sixties, explaining what was known then and how cycling was (related to salaries, races and criteriums, the importance of soigneurs, the abscence of the proescution of doping, etc). And makes too a resemblance of Simpson as a person, his ambitions, his personality, his emotional baggage.
I think he pays too much attention to Mont Ventoux ending the book, since it seems to focus more importance on the ascent, moving it away from the cyclist. And this is not the place to analyze the climb, but the place to tell how professional cycling is and were, the pressure cyclists have to decide whether embrace this world or not. The latter is the most interesant of this book, along with the consecuencies that Simpon's death had in the subsequent fight against doping.
May 26, 2019
A very engaging biography of a terrifically charismatic cycle racer. A real grafter who worked his way from a pit village in the north of England to mixing it with the racing elite in Europe.
Tom Simpson seems to have been a real character, showman, eccentric and very likeable man - the kind of sportsman that seems in very short supply in the modern era.
Strangely even the drug taking doesnt tarnish his memory. It was a different era and they were playing by different rules back in the day. It took many years following his death before they really got to grips with formalising anti-doping procedures and even now there is a lingering taint to cycle racing that never quite goes away.
Its a real shame that he died too soon with so many projects still to be achieved.
Tom Simpson seems to have been a real character, showman, eccentric and very likeable man - the kind of sportsman that seems in very short supply in the modern era.
Strangely even the drug taking doesnt tarnish his memory. It was a different era and they were playing by different rules back in the day. It took many years following his death before they really got to grips with formalising anti-doping procedures and even now there is a lingering taint to cycle racing that never quite goes away.
Its a real shame that he died too soon with so many projects still to be achieved.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews