Vincent Christan is the winner of special edition, money-can’t-buy, Lotto Belisol-liveried Lezyne CNC Floor Drive track pump, courtesy of RCUK and Upgrade Bikes.
We received hundreds of entries to our quiz, with questions set on the final week of racing in the 2013 Tour de France.
The stars of the centennial Tour, including winner, Chris Froome, British champion, Mark Cavendish, and Marcel Kittel, who crossed the line first in Paris to complete a remarkable quartet of victories, featured among our subjects.
Here are the answers to our final quiz of the 2013 Tour de France.
Marcel Kittel swept to victory on the Champs-Élysées to complete a remarkable Tour of multiple victories. How many stages did the Argos-Shimano sprinter win?
The German sprint sensation, one of a host at Argos-Shimano, was the undisputed sprint star of the hundredth Tour de France, cementing his position at the top of the order on stage 21 in Paris – his fourth stage win.
Tour organisers shunned the traditional mid-afternoon finish in Paris for a different time slot. At which time of the day did the riders arrive on the Champs-Élysées?
Had the ASO been making notes on the IG London Nocturne, a night-time race in central London that routinely attracts tens of thousands of people? The Tour is another order of magnitude, of course, and by welcoming the riders on the the finishing circuit at dusk set up a spectacular night-time presentation with a laser show on the Arc de Triomphe.
The mountainous stage 17 time trial from Embrun to Chorges saw cycling emulate the world of F1 with mid-stage “pit stops”. What were the riders changing?
The top-tier of professional cycling is frequently compared to Formula One, with its profusion of carbon fibre and gleaming tour buses. The clumsy bike changes from conventional road machines to time trial steeds mid-way through the stage 17 time trial rather spoiled the analogy.
Mark Cavendish was narrowly defeated in his quest for a new record of consecutive victories on the Champs-Élysées. How many times has the British champion won in Paris?
The Manx Missile was hoping to bag a record fifth consecutive victory on the most famous avenue in Paris, after extending the record to four victories last year. Cavendish was thwarted, however, by the Tour’s sprint sensation, Marcel Kittel, and long-time rival, Andre Greipel. Hitting a drain cover yards from the finish line didn’t aid his cause.
Tour organisers placed l’Alpe d’Huez at the centre of the centennial Tour by organising a double ascent. How many hairpin bends did the riders face on the day of “double d’Huez”?
There can be little doubt surrounding the centre piece of the hundredth Tour de France. Organisers sent the riders to the summit of the most famous climb in the race twice, forcing them to negotiate the famous 21 bends on a second occasion. The total number of hairpins faced? 42.
Nairo Quintana sealed overall victory in the King of the Mountains competition with victory on stage 20, becoming the fourth Colombian rider to win the final polka dot jersey. Who was the first?
These are high times for Colombian cycling, and Quintana’s ownership of both the white and polka dot jerseys of the centennial Tour is further evidence of the south American nation’s return to cycling’s highest level.
By winning the King of the Mountains competition, Quintana emulated his illustrious forebears, Mauricio Soler, Santiago Botero, and the first of his countrymen to wear the polka dot jersey in Paris, Luis ‘Lucho’ Herrera.
Movistar’s Rui Costa collected two stage wins in the final week of the Tour. The Portugese is fond of doubles. Which race had he won for the second time shortly before starting the Tour?
Rui Costa’s presence as domestique to Alejandro Valverde, and later to Nairo Quintana, is testament to Movistar’s strength-in-depth. Perhaps only Team Sky would field a double Tour de Suisse winner in such a role. Costa clearly didn’t feel under any constraint, as victories on stage 16 and stage 19 attest.
Christophe Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale), provided the host nation with a memorable victory in the hundredth Tour. Where did the Frenchman claim the biggest victory of his career?
Riders from the host nation claimed only one stage win at the hundredth Tour de France, but if the organisers could have picked a stage for a home triumph, stage 18 would surely have been favourite. Christophe Riblon swelled national pride with a courageous solo victory at the summit of l’Alpe d’Huez.
Veteran, Jens Voigt, is known for his solo attacks. On which stage did the much-loved German ride to within eight kilometres of victory?
‘Shut up, legs!” The Jensie’s catchphrase was surely uppermost in his thoughts as he clung on to a diminishing lead in the closing kilometres of stage 20. It took a concerted effort from the best riders in the race to catch the German, who can look back with satisfaction on another courageous day in the saddle.
Chris Froome claimed three stage wins en route to overall victory in the hundredth Tour de France. The last came in the final week. Which stage did he win?
The Frome-dog’s victory was achieved on the back of three emphatic stage wins, the last of which came at the end of the stage 17 time trial from Embrun to Chorges.
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