IG Markets Pro Cycling Quiz

IG Markets, the financial company that sponsors Team Sky also has a useful ranking system for riders, the IG Markets Pro Cycling Index.

On Wednesday IG Markets organised a quiz between several teams taken from the British world of cycle sport, media and trade and hosted it in a very British setting, a pub.

With reputations to protect and the shield above to win the competition was fierce. But the questions were even harder. Set by staff from Opta, the sports data behind the index, the people at IG Markets were kind enough to send over the questions so you can have a go.

There’s a total of 112 points over several themes and the number at the end of each question indicates how many points are at stake. I’m not going to run a competition as anyone with spare time and a search engine can get the answers but I think you will need a lot of time.

The questions are pretty tough and the winners, the team from Cycle Sport magazine (to whom the above picture is credited), got an impressive 79 points. The next team was so far behind on 57 points that the podium ceremony music was over by the time they and others handed in their answers.

1. Spring Classics (14 points)

• Who was the last reigning World Road Race Champion to win Milan-San Remo? Point for name and year. 2
• Since the Second World War, only four riders have won the Tour of Flanders in successive years, name them. 4
• How many five-star sections of pave were there in the 2011 Paris-Roubaix route? and an extra point if you can name the longest section of pave in this year’s route at 3.7 km. 2
• Name the rider who finished second to Fabian Cancellara in the 2006 edition of Paris-Roubiax but who was disqualified as part of a group who rode through a closed level crossing 1
• Name the last two riders to finish ahead of Philippe Gilbert in an Ardennes classic 2
• Who was the last rider to win a monument and the Tour de France in the same year? Point for the rider, the year and the monument. 3

2. Giro D’Italia (14 points)

• In which year did the Giro D’Italia last start in a country that borders Italy, and which country was it? 2
• Who is the last rider to win the Giro overall without winning a stage in that particular edition and in what year was it? 2
• What was notable about the mountains, points and young rider jerseys in the 2010 race? 1
• Name the last five riders to win multiple editions of the Giro D’Italia. 5
• How many times did Marco Pantani take part in the Giro D’Italia, and how many times did he finish 2
• What edition of the Giro D’Italia last saw the first rider to the summit of the Mortirolo go onto win that particular stage and who was it? 2

3. Tour de France (20 points)

• Name the four riders to have won the Tour de France exactly three times 4
• Discounting the disqualified Floyd Landis, who was the last rider before Oscar Pereiro to wear the yellow jersey in the 2006 Tour? 1
• Name the six riders in Tour history to have won at least one stage for six races in succession. 6
• Other than Jan Ullrich, who won the competition, name the two other riders, both English-speakers, to wear the white jersey in the 1998 Tour and, as an extra clue, who both rode in the 2011 tour. 2
• Name the only two riders to ride multiple tours and wear the yellow jersey in each edition they raced. A point for rider and number of participations. 4
• Who was the last rider to win stages at Alpe D’Huez in consecutive years and what years were they? 2
• What was the last edition of the TdF to see an average speed of less than 35kph? 1

4. Name the career (five points)

• Reynolds, Orbea, PDM, Reynolds, Banesto 1
• R.M.O., Festina, Team Polti, Domo-Farm Frites, Quick Step 1
• Lampre-Polti, Polti, Deutsche Telekom, Gerolsteiner 1
• Lotto, Mapei, Cofidis, Relax-Bodysol, Davitamon-Lotto, DFL-Cyclingnews 1
• Ceramiche Panaria, Milram, Cervelo, Garmin-Cervelo 1

5. World Road Championships (19 points)

• Name the four riders to have won the Worlds three times 4
• Name the last three riders to have successfully defended their World road race title 3
• Name the three riders to have finished in second place in the Worlds twice since 2000. 3
• Who was the unfancied Polish rider who finished second to the also unfancied Romāns Vainšteins in 2000? 1
• Name the only non-European or non-Australian rider to win the men’s elite time trial and which year it was in. 2
• How many riders finished with the same time as Mark Cavendish in the 2011 Worlds road race? 1
• In 17 World Road race participations between them, how many times did Tom Simpson and Eddy Merckx finish in the top 10? 1
• Name the last Worlds road race winner with a gap of more than 30 seconds and the last winner with a winning margin of more than a minute. Point for rider and year. 4

6. British Riders (32 points available, double points)

• Who were the three other riders who crossed the line with the same time as David Millar in his 2002 Tour de France road stage win into Beziers. 3
• In what race did Mark Cavendish seal his first win on the European mainland? 1
• How many Grand Tour stages did Robert Millar win in his career? 1
• How many British riders have finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix? Extra points for names. 3
• Which monument has seen the most British podiums and which the fewest? Point for the race and point for the number. 4
• Name the two riders who were the first Britons to ride in the Tour de France, and for a bonus, the Canadian who completed their three man team. 3
• Max Sciandri finished 67th for the Linda McCartney team in the 2000 Giro, but who was the other British rider in the team for that race? 1

Total score doubled for this round

Guess the climb (picture round) 4 points

Hint: click on the images to see them in large size

Profile 1

Profile 2

Profile 3

Profile 4

Missing Links 4 points
Fill in the gap and the link

Eg: Fabian Cancellara, _________, Oscar Freire, Matthew Goss,
Answer: Mark Cavendish, the last four winners of Milan San Remo

• Tom Boonen, _________, Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Petacchi
• Roger Hammond, Roger Hammond, Russell Downing, _________, David Millar
• _____, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003
• _______, Alberto Contador, Denis Menchov, Alberto Contador

So how did you get on? I’ll put the answers on here on Monday.