QUIZ - 26

This year’s Tour de France is currently underway in its final week in the difficult Pyrenees. Here are 10 questions on what is arguably the toughest sporting spectacle on earth.

1. Tour de France was started in 1903 as a publicity exercise to boost the circulation of a newspaper. Name the newspaper and its editor,

2. Which country other than hosts France has stamped its dominance on Tour de France, with its cyclists winning the event as many as 18 times?

3. The tradition of having the race leader wear the ‘Maillot Jaune’ (Yellow Jersey) began part way through the tour in 1919. What was the reason for this and who was the first rider to whom it was offered?

4. The winner of Tour de France is the rider who completes the race in the lowest cumulative time and thus it is possible to be a champion without even winning a single stage. This has happened only five times, the last one being in 1990. Who was the winner in 1990?

5. In addition to the Yellow Jersey for the overall winner, Green and Polka Dot Jerseys are respectively given to the riders who are the best sprinters and mountain climbers. Name the Belgian cyclist and his nickname, who in the year 1969 devoured the opposition by winning all three jerseys.

6. Till 1937 the riders had to dismount from their bike and turn the wheels around every time they changed from uphill to downhill and vice versa. What mechanism introduced in 1937 eliminated this cumbersome procedure?

7. Who or what is ardoisier?
   

8. What is the term used for the rider who finishes last in the overall classification?

9. What distinctive sign identifies the final kilometer of each stage in the race?

10. Twice in the history of Tour de France, the winner has been disqualified at a later date. In 2006, Floyd Landis was stripped off his title after being found guilty of taking drugs. Why was the champion disqualified in 1904?