Cycling 15 July, 1967

Tom Simpson fades; Beryl Burton bosses the national ‘50’

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It feels a little strange to read the issue the week before the death of Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux. With no sense of what was to come, reading it now almost heightens the tragedy of what happened on that fateful day. Although Simpson had been up to sixth place after stage nine to Divonneles-Bains in the mountains, he lost time the following day as he was dogged by stomach trouble, and there seemed little belief in his GC challenge. Pseudo-British rider Michael Wright had won stage seven to Strasbourg, prompting the reporter to observe: “Wright must rank as one of the cleverest riders in the game… his head does as much work as his legs.”