[CR]ANSWERS ONE THRU TEN 1949 TdF trivia

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From: "swampmtn" <swampmtn@siscom.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 16:28:57 -0400
Subject: [CR]ANSWERS ONE THRU TEN 1949 TdF trivia

1. Who won the Tour de France in 1949?

That should be an easy one, especially if you have google! Fausto Coppi won the Tour in 1949. It was his first time racing the TdF, despite what some famous authors say in their recentlt published TdF histories.

If you knew it was Coppi, give yourself 1 point, and if you're near a pub, give yourself 1 pint.

2. Why was his victory historic? (Something which had never been done before.)

Coppi's victory in 1949 marked the first time anyone had won the Giro d'Italia AND the Tour de France in the same year. Poor Gino Bartali... 2nd in the Giro and 2nd in the Tour that year. Would he have had the double, if Coppi hadn't been so healthy that year?

If you knew it was the first "double", give yourself a point, and if your near a pub, give yourself a double.

3. Which team won the team classification?

Italy won the team classification, and was also the only team to finish with all of their riders. By contrast, the French National team lost 5 riders to illness and injuries, all on the same day! (stage 10)

If you knew it was Italy, give yourself one point, and if you're near an Italian restaurant, ask for some San Pellegrino.

4. In 1949 the tour visited visited four other countries besides France; Belgium, Spain, Italy, and ???

The 49 Tour included a stage finish in Lausanne, SWITZERLAND. The Swiss riders would have loved a victory on home soil, but it was Italian National riders Vincenzo Rossello (no relation) and Bruno Pasquini who arrived over 11 minutes ahead of the field.

If you said Switzerland, give yourself 2 points... and have a Toblerone.

5. What manufacturer's car did the race director choose to follow the 1949 Tour. (same as 1939, 1948, and 1950)

This is a bit tougher... the answer is Hotchkiss. They also manufactured the "Jeep" under license from Willys - that's why you see so many Jeeps at the Tour during the late 40s and early 50s. The founder, Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss, was an American.

If you said Hotchkiss, it's worth 5 points.

6. What famous ex-racer managed the 1949 Italian National team?

Former star racer and brilliant team director Alfredo Binda also ran the show in 1952 when Coppi won his second Tour (and second "double").

If you said Binda, it's another 2 points.

7. Each team consisted of how many riders? (trick question)

Yup... tricky, that. Seven teams started with 12 riders each - Italie, Belgique, France, Ile de France, Ouest-Nord, Centre-Sud-Ouest, and Sud-Est - while the other six teams were allowed only 6 starters each - Suisse, Luxembourg, Pays-Bas (Holland), Espagne, Cadets Italiens, and Aiglons Belges.

If you said 12 and 6, give yourself 4 and 2 points.

8. Who was the highest-placed French rider at the finish?

Little French rider Jacques Marinelli of the Ile de France team took the yellow jersey on stage 4 and wore it until stage 10, managing to stay with the leaders all the way to Paris where he finished an amazing 3rd on G.C.

If you knew it was Marinelli, give yourself 2 pts.

9. By how many minutes did Fausto Coppi trail the yellow jersey after the stage to St. Malo?

The first 5 stages of the Tour were a disaster for Fauso Coppi. By the end of stage 4 he was already trailing Marinelli by 17'52". On stage 5 he and Marinelli were working together in a break, some seven minutes ahead of the field, when the two collided and went down. Neither rider was injured, but the wing nuts on Marinelli's rear wheel were tangled with the qr lever on Coppi's front wheel and the two bikes were locked together. It took a few minutes to seperate the bikes - Marinelli was able to continue on, but Coppi's fork was bent and would not accept the new front wheel. Coppi's bike was with Binda's, who'd driven to the feeding area a few minutes earlier. The car following Coppi had a generic spare bike which was too small for Coppi, and he refused it. Long minutes passed until Binda finally arrived, installed tires on Coppi's spare bike (spare bikes were not premitted to be mounted with tires, for some strange reason... you had to remove the good tires from your wrecked bike and install them on your spare bike!). Coppi got back underway, but began talking about quitting the Tour. Binda refused to allow this, and assigned team rider Mario Ricci to ride with Coppi and "no matter what, don't let him put a foot on the ground!". Coppi finished the day with a total deficit of 36'35" behind Marinelli.

If you said anything close to 37 minutes, give yourself 3 points.

10. Who won a stage on his birthday?

Gino Bartali tuned 35 on July 18th, the day he won into Briancon (Coppi was 2nd and declined to sprint against his teammate. They took over 5 minutes out of 3rd place Jean Robic. Bartali also took the Yellow Jersey that day, from another Italian rider, Fiorenzo Magni of the "Cadets Italiens" team.

If you knew it was Gino the Pious, give yourself 3 points. If you knew his age, give yourself an extra point. And if you celebrate July 18th each year, add yet another 1 point.