Back in April we set a fiendish quiz based on the Tour de France bike race mixed with a bit of local wine knowledge - we had a first prize of a rather nice cycling jersey, thanks to our friends over at Rapha, and we offered two runners up prizes of a bottle of Yapp Champagne each.
The response was excellent - but we have had numerous requests since for the answers too:
- Q1. In March, Britain’s Bradley Wiggins won the Paris-Nice stage race, aka ‘ The race to the sun’, becoming the first Britain to do so since Tommy Simpson in 1967. What is the name of the rare wine appellation in the hills above Nice?
A. Bellet. - Q2. Can you name the riders from the following nicknames: The Badger, The Professor, The Eagle of Toledo, Spartacus, The Pirate, The Cannibal and The God of Thunder.
A. Bernard Hinault - The Badger; Chris Boardman - The Professor; Federico Bahamontes - The Eagle; Fabian Cancellara - Spartacus; Marco Pantani - The Pirate; Eddy Merckx - The Cannibal; Thor Hushovd - The God of Thunder. - Q3. The town of Pau in the foothills of Pyrenees has hosted 64 stages. What is the name of the wine producer from just outside the town who supplies Yapp Brothers with delicious sweet wine?
A. Pascal Labasse - Domaine Bellegarde. - Q4. In 2013, Le Grand Depart sees the Tour de France visit which island for the first time in the race’s 110 year history?
A. Corsica. - Q5. Mont Ventoux, ‘The Giant of Provence,’ is a legendary Tour climb that has dispensed pain and suffering to cyclists of all abilities. What is the nearby wine appellation below the Dentelles de Montmirail whose Latin name means ‘pleasure and enjoyment’?
A. Gigondas.
Three winners were selected from the correct entries - they were:
(1st Prize) Mr. P. Kinahan, Cornwall PL14.
(Runner Up) Mr. J. Edley, Bucks HP22.
(Runner Up) Mr. J. Hopkinson-Woolley, Cambridge CB2.
A special mention has to go to one entrant who tried to claim extra points for losing a 4,000 metre pursuit to Tommy Simpson in the Commonwealth Games, Cardiff 1958, which didn't make it past our impartiality test (maybe if he'd won the pursuit...).
We also noticed a huge spike in competition entries in the last weekend - all with suspiciously similar answers. A bit of detective work led us the the MoneySavingExpert website, where they have a 'Competitions and Freebies' forum - someone had posted a link to our competition there, together with the answers. (Un)fortunately, one of the answers they posted was wrong - which, aptly I guess for a quiz about the Tour de France, just goes to show winners never cheat, and cheaters never win!
We hope you enjoyed this quiz - and many thanks again to our friends at www.rapha.cc for supplying the first prize.
