Tony Hewson

Anthony 'Tony' Hewson (born Sheffield, England, 26 January 1934 - died October 2020) was a British racing cyclist who rode the Tour de France and, as an amateur, won the Tour of Britain in 1955. He was critical of the way, as he saw it, British cycling has been let down by its administrators.

Background Hewson started cycling at 13 when his elder brother, John, asked him for a ride into Derbyshire. He had a heavy bicycle with a Sturmey-Archer hub gear, whereas his brother was already racing with Sheffield Central cycling club. In 1959 Hewson rode the Tour de France. He started ill-prepared after a six-week chest infection. He said:

Hewson and Sutton were taken on in 1960 by the Liberia-Grammont professional team led by Henry Anglade, but still riding as independents. Sutton described the venture as a short-lived disaster They touched the forelock and admitted to their lowly place in society. They could not possibly have foreseen the dire consequences of that decision. At a stroke it severed us from the Continent and all the benefits for cycling and cyclists here that would have accrued.

After retiring from cycling, Hewson studied English Language at the University of Leeds, graduating in 1966.

In November 2014, Hewson suffered serious head injuries when he was knocked down by a car whilst riding near his home in Shropshire. He was never able to ride his bike again and died of a spontaneous sudden brain haemorrhage on 29 September 2020 (possibly attributable to his 2014 accident head trauma) in Hereford hospital, leaving behind a wife and two grown-up children. As part of his legacy, Tony Hewson wrote two successful books about his racing career and cycling short stories.