The RCUK Giro d’Italia Rest Day Quiz proved a big hit with RCUK readers keen to show off their knowledge of the 96th corsa rosa.
Entrants were bidding to win one of two Paul Smith-Santini maglia rosa, generously donated as prizes by Multipower Sportsfoods, the official nutrition partner of the 2013 Giro d’italia.
Just over a third of those who entered scored ten out of ten from the list of questions below, whose answers we can now unveil.
Congratulations to Niall McGlone and to Phil Reynolds, our two lucky winners, both of whom scored a perfect 10. Multipower Sportsfoods will soon be in touch with both of you to send out your Paul Smith-Santini finery.
For those baffled by the questions, here’s the full list of answers. Thanks to everyone who took part.
Q1.The jersey of French national champion is moving closer to the top step of the podium with third and second placed finishes so far. But on whose shoulders is it worn?
The answer was Nacer Bouhanni, sprinter for FDJ, and the man who brought the French tricolore within touching distance of the podium. Our red herrings were Bouhanni’s French team-mate, Guillaume Bonnafond, and Italian champion, Franco Pelizzoti, whose tricolore jersey is red, white, and green.
Q2. Bradley Wiggins may not have had the best Giro, but his young team-mate Salvatore Puccio is enjoying a brilliant debut at his home race. On which stage did Puccio ride in the maglia rosa?
Puccio made his mark on his first Giro d’Italia by wearing the maglia rosa on stage three. He pulled on the jersey for the first time at the end of stage two, following Team Sky’s victory in the team time trial. Puccio, as the highest ranked of Dave Brailsford’s men on GC
Q3. Alex Dowsett produced the biggest result of his career to win the stage eight time trial. From which Essex town does Dowsett hail?
Alex Dowsett rose to the occasion at the Giro d’Italia, marking his Grand Tour debut with a victory. The Essex boy is one of the nicest chaps in cycling, and hails from Maldon. A brief roll call of Essex towns among staff at RCUK Towers yielded Chelmsford and Colchester as our decoys.
Q4. Luca Paolini has won a stage and worn the maglia rosa for four days, but his Russian team were almost denied a place in cycling’s top-tier. Which team does he ride for?
Paolini brought joy to the home nation on stage three with a courageous solo victory whose genesis came in the form of some nerveless descending into Marina di Ascea. It could have been so different if the Court of Arbitration for Sport hadn’t overturned the UCI’s decision to deny a place in cycling’s top tier to his Katusha squad.
Q5. When the rain came down at the end of stage five, so did many of the riders. In which finish town did the carnage unfold?
The finish to stage five brought together a treacherous combination of rain, white paint, and a tight left hand corner in the final kilometre of a flat run in, which the peloton approached, seemingly to the surprise of the organisers, at full gas. Down they went like dominoes. Host to the carnage? The southern town of Matera.
Q6. Adam Hansen took victory on stage seven, a long overdue reward for a phenomenal work rate. From which English-speaking nation does Hansen hail from?
Adam Hansen rode each of cycling’s three Grand Tours last season: an astonishing effort, and symptomatic of the sporting grit with which is nation is associated. The Lotto-Belisol rider is, almost inevitably, Australian.
Q7. Ramunas Navardauskas enjoyed his second WorldTour victory of the season on stage 11. In which race did he achieve the first?
Ramunas Navardauskas proved to be one of the stars of the 2013 Giro d’Italia, winning stage 11 from a breakaway, and finishing second on stages 16 and 17. We shouldn’t have been surprised, however. Navardauskas gave an indication of his form a month earlier, by winning stage two of the Tour de Romandie.
Q8. Rigoberto Uran is now Team Sky’s hope for the general classification, following his victory on stage 10 and Bradley Wiggins’ abandonment. Name Uran’s Columbian team-mate.
Rigoberto Uran justified Team Sky’s decision to promote him to leader after Wiggo had said arrivederci to the Giro by finishing second overall. His podium placing was one of a host of top perforamnces from Columbian riders, including that of team-mate Sergio Henao, who finished sixteenth overall.
Q9. Vincenzo Nibali began the race as joint favourite with Bradley Wiggins and now leads the race. On which stage did the Italian pull on the maglia rosa?
When we posed the question, The Shark was merely race leader. Now, of course, he is champion, an achievement underscored by the number of stages he spent in the maglia rosa. Nibali pulled on the leader’s jersey at the end of stage eight and never looked like relinquishing it.
Q10. Luca Paolini’s stage three victory represented the first of the race for the home nation. Which Italian rider is responsible for the second victory?
The 2013 Giro d’Italia turned out to be a memorable race for the home nation, with overall victory and a third of all stages won by Italian riders. Luca Paolini opened the floodgates on stage three, and the tifosi didn’t have to wait long for an encore: Enrico Battaglin, riding for wild card team, Bardiani-Valvole, won stage four the following day.
