2017 William Hill Sports Book of the Year: Winner

Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire by Andy McGrath has won the 2017 WHSBOTY Award. It is the fourth book to scoop the prize following on from, Rough Ride: An Insight into Pro Cycling (1990), It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (2000) and The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs (2012).

The book is published fifty years after Simpson’s death in the 1967 Tour de France, when it was discovered that there were drugs and alcohol in his system. A press release for the book explains:

Tom Simpson is British cycling’s greatest icon. Fifty years after he conquered the continental sporting scene, he still captivates people around the world. After his dramatic death on Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France, amphetamines and alcohol were found in his system, a fact which often dwarfs his pioneering achievements.

 From a humble upbringing in a Nottinghamshire mining town, Simpson became the first Briton to win the elite men’s World Championships and to wear the Tour de France’s yellow jersey. He also took victory at Milan Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Lombardy, three of cycling’s most prestigious races. A charismatic and impulsive character, Simpson lived life fast, with a penchant for spectacular racing, sports cars and fanciful dreams.

 This man of contradictions was both people’s champion and pariah, gentleman and rogue. Guided by rare photography of Simpson, this book explores the Briton’s feats and complexities through untold stories from those closest to him.

 Main protagonists and interviews: Jan Janssen, Raymond Poulidor, Gianni Motta, Barry Hoban, Emile Daems, Brian Robinson, Vin Denson, Helen Hoban, Joanne Simpson, Henri Duez, Charly Wegelius, Dave Bonner, Billy Holmes, Keith Butler, Pete Ryalls and Professor Greg Whyte OBE.