How many wheels does a standard bicycle have?
Answer : 2
A standard bicycle has two wheels in line, which is why riders must balance; a tricycle has three and a unicycle just one.
Questions and answers: Cycling
Revise Cycling: here is a selection of questions of every level, with the answer and an explanation. To test yourself without seeing the answers, play the quizzes.
Play the Cycling quizzesVery easy
What colour is the Tour de France leader's jersey?
Answer : Yellow
The yellow jersey has been worn by the overall leader since 1919; its colour comes from the yellow pages of L'Auto, the newspaper that created the race.
In which country does the Tour de France take place?
Answer : France
As its name suggests, the Tour is held mainly in France, though some stages or even the start take place abroad; the Giro is Italian and the Vuelta Spanish.
In which city does the Tour de France traditionally finish?
Answer : Paris
The finish is traditionally on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where it has ended since 1975, with a procession for the yellow jersey followed by a sprint.
Which part of a bike do you use your feet on to move forward?
Answer : The pedals
The pedals are connected to the crankset and chain, so pushing them with your feet drives the rear wheel; the handlebars steer and the saddle is for sitting.
Which piece of equipment protects a cyclist's head?
Answer : The helmet
A helmet protects the head in a crash, and it has been compulsory for professional riders since 2003, after the death of Andrei Kivilev at Paris-Nice.
The Tour de France is a race...
Answer : by stages
The Tour is usually raced over 21 stages across about three weeks, and the winner is the rider with the lowest cumulative time.
What is the main group of riders riding together called?
Answer : The peloton
Riding in the shelter of other riders greatly reduces air resistance, which is why breakaway riders struggle to stay ahead of the peloton.
Easy
Which jersey does the Tour de France's best climber wear?
Answer : White with red polka dots
The white jersey with red polka dots, created in 1975, goes to the best climber, who collects points at the summits of categorised climbs.
Which jersey rewards the Tour de France's best sprinter (points classification)?
Answer : Green
The green jersey rewards the points classification, which favours consistency and sprinting, and has existed since 1953.
Roughly how many weeks does the Tour de France last?
Answer : 3
The Tour lasts about 23 days, with 21 stages and two rest days, so a little over three weeks.
What is the nationality of the legendary rider Eddy Merckx?
Answer : Belgium
Eddy Merckx, nicknamed the Cannibal, won five Tours between 1969 and 1974 and remains a benchmark for the sport.
Which famous Tour de France climb has 21 hairpin bends?
Answer : Alpe d'Huez
Alpe d'Huez is famous for its 21 hairpin bends, numbered in a countdown to the summit, and is one of the Tour's most mythical climbs.
In which country does the Giro d'Italia take place?
Answer : Italy
The Giro d'Italia is Italy's Grand Tour, usually held in May, and its leader wears the pink jersey.
In which country is the Vuelta a España held?
Answer : Spain
The Vuelta a España, held in late summer, is the third Grand Tour alongside the Tour de France and the Giro.
How many times did Bernard Hinault win the Tour de France?
Answer : 5
Bernard Hinault won the Tour in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, equalling the record of Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx at the time.
Medium
Which Spanish rider won five consecutive Tours de France between 1991 and 1995?
Answer : Miguel Indurain
Miguel Indurain won five Tours in a row from 1991 to 1995, the first to do so, and completed the Giro-Tour double in 1992 and 1993.
In which year was the first Tour de France held?
Answer : 1903
The first Tour ran from 1 to 19 July 1903 in six stages, with 60 riders at the start.
Which newspaper created the Tour de France?
Answer : L'Auto
L'Auto, edited by Henri Desgrange, launched the Tour in 1903 to boost its sales against its rival Le Vélo.
What is Eddy Merckx's nickname?
Answer : The Cannibal
Merckx was called the Cannibal because he left nothing for his rivals; Marco Pantani was the Pirate and Federico Bahamontes the Eagle of Toledo.
Who was the first rider to win five Tours de France?
Answer : Jacques Anquetil
Jacques Anquetil won five Tours (1957 and 1961 to 1964), a record later matched by Merckx, Hinault and Indurain.
Which spring classic is nicknamed La Doyenne (the oldest)?
Answer : Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Liège-Bastogne-Liège, first held in 1892, is the oldest of the five Monuments, hence the nickname La Doyenne; it is raced in April in the Belgian Ardennes.
In which country is the Tour of Flanders held?
Answer : Belgium
The Tour of Flanders is raced in Belgium, in Flanders, on narrow cobbled lanes and steep short climbs like the Koppenberg.
In which region of France is Mont Ventoux located?
Answer : Provence
Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, rises to about 1,900 metres and its bare summit is often swept by the mistral wind.
Hard
Which French rider, nicknamed the Professor, won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984?
Answer : Laurent Fignon
Laurent Fignon, nicknamed the Professor for his glasses and intellectual air, won in 1983 and 1984, then lost the 1989 Tour by just 8 seconds to Greg LeMond.
Who was the first British rider to win the Tour de France, in 2012?
Answer : Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins won in 2012 ahead of his Sky teammate Chris Froome, becoming the first British winner of the Tour.
In which year did Bernard Hinault win his last Tour de France?
Answer : 1985
Hinault won in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985; he missed 1983 through a knee injury, and Fignon won that year.
Which American won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989 and 1990?
Answer : Greg LeMond
Greg LeMond was the first non-European winner in 1986, and in 1989 he beat Fignon by 8 seconds, the smallest winning margin in Tour history.
Which famous cobbled sector of Paris-Roubaix crosses a forest?
Answer : The Arenberg Forest
The Arenberg Forest sector is a straight 2.3 km of cobbles through the Wallers-Arenberg forest and has featured in Paris-Roubaix since 1968.
Which Italian champion, nicknamed the Campionissimo, won the Tour de France in 1949 and 1952?
Answer : Fausto Coppi
Fausto Coppi, the Campionissimo, completed the Giro-Tour double in 1949 and again in 1952; Gino Bartali was his great rival.
Which French rider was nicknamed the Badger?
Answer : Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault was nicknamed the Badger for his fierce, stubborn character, and was also known as the Boss of the peloton.
Which jersey does the road cycling world champion wear?
Answer : Rainbow
The rainbow jersey, with coloured bands across the chest, is worn for a year by the world road race champion, in every race until the next world championships.
Expert
From which Paris suburb did the first Tour de France start in 1903?
Answer : Montgeron
The first Tour started from Montgeron, in the Paris suburbs, outside the Au Réveil-Matin cafe, on 1 July 1903.
Which city hosted the first Tour de France start outside France, in 1954?
Answer : Amsterdam
Amsterdam hosted the first Tour start outside France in 1954, the year Louison Bobet won; foreign starts have since become common.
Who won the first Tour de France in 1903?
Answer : Maurice Garin
Maurice Garin, a former chimney sweep who became a French citizen, won that first Tour; Petit-Breton, Lapize and Pélissier only won it later, between 1907 and 1923.
What was the approximate length of the first Tour de France in 1903?
Answer : 2,428 km
The 1903 Tour covered 2,428 km in just six very long stages, some of them over 400 km.
In which city did Eddy Merckx break the hour record in 1972?
Answer : Mexico City
On 25 October 1972, Merckx broke the hour record in Mexico City (49.431 km), helped by the altitude of about 2,240 m where the air is thinner, though it left him exhausted.
Which Frenchman won three consecutive Tours de France between 1953 and 1955?
Answer : Louison Bobet
Louison Bobet was the first rider to win three Tours in a row (1953, 1954, 1955); Jean Robic won in 1947 and Roger Walkowiak in 1956.
How many Monuments are there in road cycling?
Answer : 5
The five Monuments are Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
Which Belgian climber won the Tour de France in 1976?
Answer : Lucien Van Impe
Lucien Van Impe won the 1976 Tour and was crowned the Tour's best climber six times in his career.