Take our Tour de France Quiz

Think you know everything about the Tour de France? Then try these 20 questions from The Tour de France Quiz Book.

 The Tour de France passes through Wicklow in 1998, the year it started in Ireland – but in which city? Photo: Thomas Fitzgerald

The Tour de France passes through Wicklow in 1998, the year it started in Ireland – but in which city? (See question 17.) Photo: Thomas Fitzgerald 

Test your Tour de France knowledge with these questions from The Tour de France Quiz Book by John White (with a foreward by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen). 

1. In what year was the first Tour de France staged – 1901, 1902 or 1903?

2. In addition to the Yellow Jersey, what other overall classification Jersey did Eddy Merckx win in both 1971 and 1972?

3. In 1954 Le Tour did not start in France for the first time in its history. In what country did Le Tour start? 

4. What colour of Jersey is awarded to the Best Young Rider?  

5. Can you recall the name of the last Italian rider to win the Tour?

Raymond Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil (see question 6) in the Alps, 1966 Tour de France. Photo: Chris Protopapas

Raymond Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil (see question 6) in the Alps, 1966 Tour de France. Photo: Chris Protopapas 

6. How many times did Jacques Anquetil win the Tour?

7. What British bicycle manufacturer sponsored the winning rider in the 1980 Tour de France?

8. Who was the Irish rider who won the 1987 Tour de France?

9. Who brought Miguel Indurain’s winning run to an end in the 1996 Tour de France – Marco Pantani, Bjarne Riis or Jan Ullrich?

10. Who was the first American winner of Le Tour?

11. Who was runner-up in the 1984 Tour de France but came back the next year and won it?

12. Can you recall the name of the Italian rider who was runner-up in the 1991 Tour de France?

13. What is Contre La Montre?

14. What is tete de la course?

15. What is parcours?

16. Who finished runner-up in the Tour on five occasions after 1998? 

17. In what Irish City did the 1998 Tour de France start?

18. What colour of Jersey does the leading rider in the King of the Mountains competition wear?

19. Name the French rider who finished runner-up to Eddy Merckx when he won his last Tour de France.

20. What is a domestique?

Answers

1. 1903
2. Green Jersey (points)
3. The Netherlands
4. White Jersey
5. Marco Pantini (1998) 
6. 5
7. Raleigh 
8. Stephen Roche
9. Bjarne Riis
10. Greg LeMond (1986)
11. Bernard Hinault
12. Gianni Bugno
13. Time trial
14. The front of the race
15. The description for the route the Tour takes each day
16. Jan Ullrich
17. Dublin
18. Red and white polka dot
19. Raymond Poulidor
20. A rider who willingly sacrifices their own chances of winning and works to help their team leaders
 

These questions are just 20 of the 1,250 that feature in The Tour de France Quiz Book. John White, who compiled the questions, says he has been a fan of the Tour de France "since I first watched Channel 4’s broadcast of the Greatest Cycle Race in the World during the early 1980s".

"The physical limits and pain that those guys put themselves through over three weeks' racing is simply staggering. Just riding a bicycle for five hours is hard enough, but then when you see the speed they do it at, it is breathtaking. Just imagine riding a bike for five-plus hours uphill – but it is superhuman feats such as climbing the Alps on a bike that make Le Tour so appealing."

More Tour de France on Freewheeling France  

Must-read Tour de France books
New release Tour de France books
Book extract: The first-ever our de France (A Race for Madmen)
Book extract: The birth of the Yellow Jersey (A Race for Madmen)
Book extract: The birth of the Tour de France (A Race for Madmen)
Book review: How I Won the Yellow Jumper by Ned Boulting
How Cav Won the Green Jersey
Book review: Inside the Peloton by Nicolas Roche
Book review: Sky's the Limit
Book extract: Greg LeMond, champion (Slaying the Badger)
Book extract: LeMond v Hinault in 1986 (Slaying the Badger)
Books blog: Brian Robinson: Pioneer by Graeme Fife 

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