After the race, Simpson prepared for the world road championships with distance training and criteriums. At the world championships on 3 September, the road race consisted of twenty-four laps of a varying circuit at Sallanches in the French Alps. Simpson crashed on the third lap while descending in wet conditions, damaging a pedal. He got back to the peloton, launching a solo attack on a descent; he then chased down the group of four leaders with two laps to go. On the last lap he was dropped by three riders, finishing six seconds behind. On 17 October, Simpson rode in the Giro di Lombardia. Halfway through the race he was given the wrong "musette" (bag) by his team in the feed zone, and threw it away. With the head of the race reduced to five riders, Molteni's Gianni Motta attacked. Simpson was the only one who could follow, but he began to feel the effects of not eating. Motta gave him part of his food, which sustained him for a while. On the final climb Simpson led Motta, but was exhausted. Over the remaining of flat terrain, Motta dropped him; Simpson cracked, and was repeatedly overtaken, finishing twenty-first. He closed the year riding track races.