In the 1967 Tour de France, Tom Simpson, one of the greatest cyclists from Great Britain, has died while climbing Mont Ventoux, the “Giant of Provence”.
Category: History and Legends
The first Tour de France was held in 1903, and the overall winner was Maurice Garin (3 March 1871, Arvier, Aosta Valley, Italy – 19 February 1957, Lens or Haute-Savoie, France). His bicycle, a La Française was the first bike to win the Tour de France.
LOOK Mondrian is the legendary frameset of the French bicycle manufacturer. Its red, blue, and yellow colors (also the logo of the company) were based on the artwork of Piet Mondrian (March 7, 1872 – February 1, 1944), the famous Dutch painter.
I finished reading “Maglia Rosa – Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’Italia” by Herbie Sykes. Now it’s Tour de France time, and I started to reading “Slaying the Badger” by Richard Moore.
On April 6, 2013, an interview with Graeme Obree has published in heraldscotland.com by Mark Smith, titled “Graeme Obree smashes the myth of sporting success”.
Four cyclists have died during the Giro d’Italia: Orfeo Ponsin (a.k.a. Orfeo Ponzin) (1952), Juan Manuel Santisteban (a.k.a. Juan Manuel Santiesteban) (1976), Emilio Ravasio (1986), and Wouter Weylandt (2011).
Giovanni Rossignoli was the hidden winner of two Giri d’Italia. He never won the Italian grand tour, but, in fact, he was the fastest finisher – twice.
A very enjoyable story about the legendary Swiss cyclist Ferdi Kübler.
As I wrote before, these days I am reading William Fotheringham’s “Put Me Back On My Bike – In search of Tom Simpson”. Like all books of Fotheringham, it is a great book.
These days I am reading “Put Me Back On My Bike – In search of Tom Simpson“ by William Fotheringham. This is my third Fotheringham book, after “Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi” and “Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike”.
“Ciao Fausto”: Goodbye Fausto, a very beautiful song by Italian singer and songwriter Mario Gualtieri.