Tour de France : 13 juillet 1967, Tom Simpson, la mort en direct
Il y a cinquante ans, un des chouchous du public perdait la vie sur son vélo, devant les caméras de télévision. Fifty years ago, the public’s favourite died on his bike, in front of television camers.
Le coureur britannique Tom Simpson au départ de la première étape du Tour de France 1966, à Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), le 21 juin 1966. (GETTY IMAGES / HULTON ARCHIVE)
Cinquante ans plus tard, aurait fait mauvais genre. Le 13 juillet 1967, un coureur du Tour est mort sur son vélo. Le Britannique Tom Simpson est devenu une légende, pas forcément pour les bonnes raisons. On 13 July 1967, a rider in the Tour died on his bike. Briton Tom Simpson has since become a legend, but not for good reasons. Performance enhancing drugs were the reason.
Fifty years later it leaves a sad and bad feeling. Mont Ventoux will be avoided on this year’s tour, but the riders tackled serious climbs in the Pyrenees today and they’ll do more pain on the national holiday (14 July).
Les badauds déposent ce qu’ils ont sous la main sur les marches de la stèle élevée en sa mémoire. Une casquette, une bouteille de champagne, un bidon, des cartes de visites glissées sous une pierre pour résister au vent. Un peu comme la tombe de Jim Morrison au Père-Lachaise à Paris. Car Tom Simpson était l’une des premières rock stars du cyclisme.
On a shrine to Tom Simpson built on the slopes of mont Ventoux many come to leave artifacts as hommage to the now super-star cyclist, similar to the pilgrim activity to Jim Morrison’s grave in Père-Lachaise in Paris.
La stèle élevée en l’honneur de Tom Simpson, sur les pentes du mont Ventoux (Vaucluse), prise en photo le 23 juillet 2013. (ALAIN LE BOT / PHOTONONSTOP)
About bill
Worked in the technical / engineering area as a Science Laboratory Technician and as an Aeronautics Engineer.
The artistic side involves writing under the nom de plume of Billy Olsenn, his recently written play 'A Case of Wine' was staged by the players group Straight Make-Up at the 2012 Birr one act drama festival. It's next staging was in the one act circuit is in Cavan, at Maudebawn on Sat 10 Nov 2012. Then it was performed in the Bray, Co.Wicklow at the very popular one act festival in January 2013.
Next play is FEAR. A dark tale about revenge on the cruel death of two pensioners by young thugs. Neighbours hatch a devious and dangerous plan to exact old-style revenge. Bill is a member of the Drama League of Ireland and his plays have been critically vetted and certified as original pieces of work by the DLI.
Another literary project is that of commemoration of an aircraft crash on Djouce mountain in Wicklow in 1946. Bill wrote articles for the 50th, 60th and most recently the 70th anniversary, (12 Aug
2016) all were published in the Wicklow Times and ensured the survivors of the crash, all French Girl Guides, were not forgotten. Articles reproduced on this website.
But mostly this site gives a more general European and specific French slant on popular and not so popular articles of French news, translated to English by the author. Each article is translated on a paragraph by paragraph basis so easy to read in either language and even possible to improve either language by comparison of the short English and French paragraphs. Amusez vous bien.
The author is currently writing an easy to read technical aviation book centered around the Fokker 50.
Another interest is that dealt with in another of Bill's websites www.realnamara.net, a Statue of the mother of God, Mary. It was erected in 1972 in Dublin, at the end of the Bull Wall near Clontarf, and my grandfather William Nelson, was the main instigator of that project. I give talks on the history of the statue and my grandfather's adventurous and dangerous life at sea.
Technical assistance with each website is by J O'N.
