Tom Simpson: Something to Aim At

Few have ever heard of the late Tom Simpson, but among the cycle racing fraternity (especially that of the late '60s), he was a hugely popular World Champion. What makes this lengthy documentary tribute especially moving is the circumstances surrounding Simpson's untimely death, which occurred as he was tackling a mountain stage in the 1967 Tour de France. Never one to give up, he literally rode himself to death. The first half-hour is perhaps a little too weighed down with reminiscences; crucially, there's hardly any archive material of Simpson during his early push to the top, so what we get is a stream of vaguely interesting vox-pops. Thankfully, it takes a turn for the better as soon as we reach the mid-'60s, when Simpson began making an impact in such prestigious races as the Tour of Flanders and the World Championship itself.