On This Day in the Tour….1967

13th July 1967

The 1967 Tour is infamous for one thing – the death of Tom Simpson, although unless you’re a cycling fan or student of Tour history you might not be fully aware of the whole story of what happened on 13^th July 1967. Since the doping scandals of recent decades, Tour organisers ASO and some of the British cycling establishment have almost been afraid to mention Tom Simpson and what happened not far from the summit of Mont Ventoux. The fact that Simpson was carrying vials of amphetamines in his jersey pocket that day cannot be ignored, nor should it be. Doping is an indisputable if unpleasant part of the history of the Tour.

There had been an opportunity for the 2017 edition to acknowledge this history by visiting Mont Ventoux today, the 50^th anniversary of Simpson’s death on the slopes of the mountain; however the organisers decided not to include the Giant of Provence in this years route, which many feel was a ploy to avoid having to address difficult questions.

Instead, many of Simpson’s friends, family, and fans will make their way to Provence in order to remember Tom Simpson – Bradley Wiggins will be amongst those on Ventoux today, posting a photo on his Twitter page yesterday at the foot of the mountain. Another Tour legend, Eddy Merckx, will also be amongst those making the pilgrimage to Provence.

Jeremy Whittle, author of Ventoux: Sacrifice and Suffering on the Giant of Provence, feels that the Tour organisers’ refusal to even acknowledge what happened in the race 50 years ago today was wrong. “Marking his death’s 50^th anniversary would not suggest a glib acceptance of doping…it would simply be respectful and accepting…fans who knew him show more compassion for his memory than the organisers of the race in which he died”. It seems bizarre that, while the Tour appears ashamed to whisper the name ‘Simpson’, Virenque is still invited to ASO events with others who have been involved with performance enhancing substances. Much like the snubbing of Ullrich at this years’ launch event in Germany, it seems some dopers have been completely forgiven and rehabilitated within the sport, whilst others are ignored or erased from Tour history.

By attempting to whitewash the events of 13^th July 1967, ASO are disregarding one of the trigger events in the development of anti-doping regulations – a development which is still ongoing. Simpson’s story also serves to highlight the pressure riders experience during Grand Tours and other key races in the cycling calendar. Simpson’s team mates had grown concerned for his health in the days leading up to his death. On Stage 10, they had urged him to abandon due to stomach problems, yet his manager felt that Simpson should continue. A number of biographers have suggested that some were pressing Simpson to continue for the positive effect his presence at the Tour would have upon his – and by extension their – financial situation. The negative impact that leaving the Tour would have upon his earnings and earning potential could have persuaded Simpson to continue. Others suggest that once Simpson pulled on the British national jersey, he had it within his power to ‘ride himself to death’.

Stage 13 of the 1967 Tour began in Marseille, traversing 211.5km of mountainous road, before finishing in Carpentras after the 13 mile climb of Ventoux and descent down the other side. The heat that day was intense, and once the race left the tree line on the lower slopes of the mountain there was no respite from the beating sun. The Tour’s doctor was concerned that the combined effect of the heat and the climb would be dangerous to rider’s health, allegedly saying to a journalist “if the boys stick their nose in a topette (bag of drugs) today, we could have a death on our hands”.

Simpson appeared to be suffering even before the race had started. Asked on the start line if he was finding the heat a problem, he replied “No, it’s not the heat, it’s the Tour”. A key moment in the story of Stage 13 came whilst the riders were still covering the tree-lined section of the road to Mont Ventoux. Simpson appeared to leave his bike by the side of the road to fill his bottle from a building alongside the race route. One of the race officials, Jacques Lohmutter, confirmed to Simpson’s mechanic Harry Hall that he had filled the bottle with brandy. A team mate had visited a cafe earlier in the day and also procured brandy, which he had shared with Simpson. Simpson had also taken two vials of amphetamine, with a third full tube stowed in his jersey. This cocktail was to prove lethal when combined with the heat and exertion.

At the start of the climb, fellow riders noted tat Simpson was not in a good way. He did not respond when offered a drink of water by Lucien Aimar, a rider in a group of five who overtook Simpson a few kilometres from the summit. Aimar was worried. “His behaviour was completely bizarre”. Almost a mile from the summit, Simpson was weaving across the road in a dazed state. His mechanic gew increasingly concerned that Simpson would not be able to descend in his present state.

Simpson fell from his bike approximately half a mile from the summit. Hall jumped out of his vehicle and told Simpson that his Tour was over. Tom refused to heed his pleas, and declared “no, get me up, get me straight”. The team manager, Alec Taylor, told Hall that if Tom wanted to continue, so be it. Hall was unsettled by this, as Simpson was rambling and incoherent. The last words he heard him utter were “on, on, on” – not the famous “put me back on my bike” that is often quoted.

After remounting, initially it appeared that Simpson would reach the summit. He didn’t. Weaving all over the road, spectators held him up, and then lowered him to the ground upon seeing his glazed eyes and dazed appearance. Simpson had lost consciousness with his hands locked to his handlebars. A nurse from the Tour’s medical staff attempted CPR. Eventually an oxygen mask was procured by the Tour’s doctor, Dumas.

Almost three quarters of an hour after Simpson collapsed, he was taken by helicopter to Avignon hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Dumas would not sign a death certificate, and an autopsy was commissioned. Simpson’s death was attributed to heat exhaustion. Hall believes that he was dead by the time he was lowered to the ground.

Part Two, After 13th July 1967, will be available soon. 

Further TUEs Leaked as Wiggins Forced To Appear on TV to Explain His Actions

As the hackers known as Fancy Bears revealed medical information attributed to Olympic gold medallist Fabian Cancellara and Tour of Britain winner Steve Cummings on Friday afternoon, Bradley Wiggins found himself still embroiled in a heated debate about his own use of TUEs. As we reported last week, both former Sky rider Wiggins and current Sky superstar Chris Froome were subject to detailed scrutiny in the media and online following the release of documents obtained by a hack on a World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) database, showing that both Tour de France winners had taken banned substances with a therapeutic use exemption or TUE, the method by which professional athletes are permitted to use such medications to treat ongoing conditions such as asthma.

Chris Froome had previously spoken about his use of TUEs when his 2014 prescription for prednisolone was revealed. Earlier this year, the three time TdF winner had spoken to The Scotsman newspaper about using TUEs, which he confirmed he had done twice in his career, once in May 2013 for 5 days at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and again for 7 days during the Tour of Romandy in 2014. Both TUEs were UCI approved as part of the treatment for Froome’s asthma.  Addressing the recent WADA hack, Froome shrugged off any controversy.  “I’ve openly discussed my TUEs with the media and have no issues with the leak, which confirms my statements”.

Wiggins however was not so lucky.  The controversy surrounding his TUEs centred around claims made in his 2012 autobiography ‘My Time’, in which Sir Bradley wrote that he had never received any injections in relation to his cycling career.  The leaked WADA information appeared to tell a different tale, showing that, alongside a host of TUEs for asthma medication such as salbutamol and formoterol, Wiggins had been granted TUEs for injectable Triamcinolone Acetonide, used to treat a pollen allergy.  A statement was hurried out on behalf of the former Sky man, claiming that the rider had been referring in his autobiography to the use of “illegal intravenous injections”, not approved intramuscular injections such as triamcinolone. This statement did nothing to quell the furore. Some felt uneasy that Wiggins had not made any direct comment, choosing instead to communicate through his press team. Others felt that, by drawing attention to the difference between intravenous and intramuscular treatments, the statement was addressing the public as if they were fools, and was also starting to appear as a case of ‘one doth protest too much’.

Photo: Wiggins on Stage 7b of the 2016 Tour of Britain.

Questions were also asked over Team Sky’s relationship with disgraced doping doctor Geert Leinders, who was hired by the team during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, when Wiggins was approaching the pinnacle of his road career. Leinders was banned from working in sport for life after he was found to have committed serious anti-doping violations when working for the Rabobank team. Whilst there have never been any allegations of doping stemming from the doctor’s time at Team Sky, a USADA report compiled as a result of the 2012 investigation into Lance Armstong claims that Leinders administered, possessed and trafficked a host of banned substances including EPO, testosterone and corticosteroids  for Rabobank riders during his tenure as the team. Leinders was also accused of administering blood transfusions to Rabobank team members.

Forced to address his relationship with the Belgian doctor, a spokesman for Bradley Wiggins explained “Brad has no direct link to Geert Leinders. Leinders was ‘on race’ doctor for Team Sky for a short period and so was occasionally present at races dealing with injuries sustained whilst racing, such as colds and bruises. Leinders had no part in Brad’s TUE application”.

Again, the statement did nothing to quell the rising tide of voices questioning Bradley Wiggins.  Four years on from the outcome of the Lance Armstrong investigation, fans are wary of being taken for fools yet again. Releasing statements through spokespeople instead of directly addressing the matter as Froome chose to do, has prolonged the sense of unease. By refusing to answer questions about his conduct in person, many have decided that Wiggins must have something to hide.

In the face of the ongoing storm, Wiggins has been forced to try a different approach to cease the clamour, by appearing on national TV on Sunday morning as part of the Andrew Marr Show. Following yet another Olympic medal haul for Team GB in the velodrome at the Rio games, Wiggins should be on our screens celebrating the close of a fantastically successful career as one of Britain’s most decorated Olympic athletes. Instead he faces the long, drawn out hangover from the Armstrong era.

As the controversy rumbles on with no sign of slowing, former UK pro cyclist and anti-doping campaigner David Millar told The Daily Telegraph that in-competition use of triamcinolone should be banned, and that there should be complete transparency surrounding the use of TUEs.  Millar, who himself was handed a suspension from the sport in 2004 for admitting to the use of performance enhancing drugs, claimed that triamcinolone, brand name Kenacort, was  incredibly powerful – even when compared with more well known performance enhancers such as EPO. “I took EPO and testosterone patches” explained Millar, “and they obviously produce huge differences in your blood…you felt at your top level. Kenacort though, was the only one you took and three days later you looked different. It’s scary because it’s catabolic so it’s eating into you. It felt destructive. It felt powerful….if it’s that strong, we shouldn’t be allowed to take it unless there is a serious issue. And if we’re suffering from that serious an issue, we shouldn’t be racing”. Millar went on to say that he couldn’t “fathom” why doctors would be prescribing such a powerful drug before races. “We shouldn’t have to face this”.

Sir Bradley may well be thinking “we shouldn’t have to face this” each time another armchair detective on Twitter claims to have known all along that there was something afoot at Team Sky. Whilst the UCI condones the use of TUEs, many so-called cycling fans are whipping themselves up into a frenzy over the WADA leaks, forgetting that Wiggins et al had explicit approval from cycling’s governing body to take the medication listed on their TUEs. Taking an approved drug to treat a recognized condition is not the same as systematic and sustained doping. Just like that colleague who is always ‘ill’ on a Friday, there are probably those who take advantage of the system, just as there will be those who follow the TUE procedure to the letter. The release of this information does not mean that any of the cyclists named by Fancy Bears have done anything wrong.

Establishing how to manage the TUE system so that it is fair to everyone should form part of the UCI’s approach to building  a successful anti-doping programme. Meanwhile, one of the UK’s previously best-loved sportsmen is caught in the cross-hairs, facing a fight for his reputation.