USA Cycling Trivia

1. In what year did Lance win the UCI Road World Championships road race?

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: 1993

The 1993 UCI Road World Championships were held in Oslo, Norway. By winning the road race Lance would get to wear the Rainbow Jersey for a whole year, when cycling. In 1993, Lance beat out Olaf Ludwig and Miguel Indurain for the victory.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: Vuelta a España

An American first competed in a Grand Tour (specifically, the Tour de France) in 1981, but in less than ten years Americans had won both the Tour (Greg LeMond, 1986 and 1989-90) and the Giro d'Italia (Andy Hampsten, 1988). However, American success in Spain's Vuelta a España has come much more slowly. No American even achieved a podium (top-three) finish there in the 1980s or the 1990s.

From Quiz American Cyclists

Answer: George Hincapie

In 2001, George Hincapie became the first US rider to win this classic. He finished a close third in 2003, behind Cipo and teammate Fred Rodriguez.

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Andy Hampsten

The first American to wear the White Jersey at the end of the Tour de France was Greg Lemond in 1984. Andy placed 4th in 1986, helping Greg win his first Tour.

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Bobby Julich

Bobby Julich was slated to ride in a supporting role for Francesco Casagrande. After Julich finished fourth in the prologue and Casagrande crashed out, he became team leader and finished third overall behind Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich. Andy Hampsten and Tyler Hamilton both came close with fourth place finishes. Lance was the third American to make the podium.

From Quiz Cycling; Team USA (and a Canadian)

Answer: Greg LeMond

Gregory James LeMond (Lakewood, California, 26 June 1961) won the first of his three Tour de France titles in 1986, after a fascinating battle with his team mate and home favorite Bernard Hinault, marked a significant moment in American cycling history and began a period of American success in the sport. His second victory in 1989 was also very special, with LeMond returning unexpectedly to his best shape after a horrible hunting accident in 1987, that left him with more than 40 lead pellets in his body, nearly ended his life. LeMond managed to win a third Tour de France in 1990, in addition to twice winning the rainbow jersey as World Champion. Lemond became the CEO of his own bike brand, operating out of Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2020, he won the Congressional Gold Medal for his dedication to activism and community involvement.

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: 1993

Lance competed in the 1993 Tour de France, racing for Team Motorola. It was Stage 8; the date was July 11, 1993. Stage 8 was 184.5km long. The stage started out in Châlons-sur-Marne and ended in Verdun. Lance would not gain the lead though. A Belgian, Johan Museeuw, would have the lead at the end of the stage. Miguel Indurain would win the 1993 Tour de France.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: Jonathan "Jacques" Boyer

Jonathan "Jacques" (usually Americanized as "Jock") Boyer had been riding professionally in Europe since 1977 when his team was invited to the Tour de France in 1981, making him the first American ever to ride in a Grand Tour. The management of the Tour convinced him to wear a stars and stripes jersey design that year instead of his regular team jersey, as a way to attract U.S. attention to the race. His best finish was 12th in 1983.

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Jonathan Boyers

Jonathan Boyer first raced in 1981, three years before Greg Lemond. His best finish was 12th in 1983. Greg Lemond rode for the first time in 1984, finishing 3rd. It was the only time they rode the tour together. Doug Shapiro joined the Tour in 1985, and Davis Phinney in 1986.

From Quiz Cycling; Team USA (and a Canadian)

Answer: Davis Phinney

Davis Phinney (Boulder, 10 July 1959) was a legendary American sprinter who achieved significant success in the 1980s. As part of the strong 7-Eleven Cycling Team, Phinney was only the second American to win a stage in the Tour de France. In 1988, he became the second American (after Greg LeMond) to rank second in the final classification of the Green Jersey, the classification for the best sprinter of the peloton, behind the indomitable Eddy Plankaert. Phinney did manage to win two stage wins in the Tour de France, though, as wel as a national title and numerous wins in the iconic Coors Classic. Phinney was diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 40, and established the Davis Phinney Foundation in 2004 in an effort to raise funding for medical research and awareness for the disease.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: David Zabriskie

Zabriskie won Stage 11, a road stage, in the 2004 Vuelta while riding for U.S. Postal and time trials in both the 2005 Giro (Stage 8), and the 2005 Tour (Stage 1) while riding for CSC to complete the first "official" triple by an American. Tyler Hamilton won Stage 14 in the 2002 Giro and Stage 16 in the 2003 Tour, but his win of Stage 8 in the 2004 Vuelta was officially stripped for an EPO doping violation. The "point" in the question is a reference to Zabriskie Point in Death Valley, which was also the title of a 1970 film.

From Quiz American Cyclists

Answer: Laurent Fignon

Lemond trailed Fignon by 50 seconds going into the final stage - a 24.5 km time trial. Almost no one believed that was going to be long enough to make up such a large gap, but Lemond chose to use aerobars and an aerodynamic helmet - the first 'big name' rider to do so in a major race. That, combined with a record setting effort and a bit of luck (Fignon was suffering from saddle sores), was all he needed to win the stage by 58 seconds. Delgado, sadly, put himself nearly out of contention at the first time trial when he arrived several minutes late for his start!

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Davis Phinney

Greg Lemond was actually the first to win a stage. The 21st stage of the 1985 tour was a time trial. Phinney was the first to win a road stage, taking one in 1986 and another in 1987. His win in '86 justified the inclusion of the young American 7-Eleven team in the Tour.

From Quiz Cycling; Team USA (and a Canadian)

Answer: Andy Hampsten

Andrew Hampsten (Columbus, Ohio, 7 April 1962) was one of the protagonists in one of the most insane stages modern road cycling has ever seen. Just google Mount Gavia 1988 and you'll get the idea. An epic mountain stage over the infamous Gavia through a snow blizzard, which caught many riders unawares. The result: absolute mayhem, with riders shaking uncontrollably, crying, suffering from hypothermia, abandoning in a stupor. Johan van der Velde, a Dutchman who crested the top of the Gavia in first place, lost 43 minutes on the descent to the finish in a state of delirium! Hampsten and his team were much better prepared for the cold than most competitors and finished second on the stage after Erik Breukink from the Netherlands. However, as a result Hampsten was the new leader of the general classification and proud bearer of the iconic Pink Jersey, which he carried all the way to the end. Nowadays, Hampsten divides his time between Boulder and Tuscany in his beloved Italy.

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: Bronze

Lance raced for his home country, the United States of America. Viatcheslav Ekimov, a Russian, won the Men's Time Trial. He beat Lance by 01:34. Jan Ullrich, of Germany, placed second in the Men's Time Trial. Jan also won the Men's Road Race in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: Floyd Landis

In 2004, Landis' last season with the U.S. Postal Service Team, he took the maillot oro at the end of stage 1 (a team time trial), and regained it at the end of stages 8, 9, 10 and 11 to become the first American ever to lead the general classification at the Vuelta and wear the gold jersey. Levi Leipheimer became the second American to claim the gold jersey when he led the 2008 Vuelta after Stage 5 (which he won) and Stage 8 en route to finishing second.

From Quiz American Cyclists

Answer: World Championships

Lemond became one of an elite group of riders to have won both the Tour and the World Championships. He defeated Sean Kelly in an epic race to complete one of the great comebacks in sports history.

From Quiz Cycling; Team USA (and a Canadian)

Answer: Sepp Kuss

Up to his remarkable win, Sepp Kuss (Durango, Colorado, 13 September 1994) made a career as a "super domestique", a world class climber assigned to help his team leader out in the tough mountain stages. In 2023, Kuss had already assisted Primoz Roglic in his Giro d'Italia overall victory and his other team leader Jonas Vingegaard on the way to his second Tour de France general classification win, when he suddenly found himself atop of the leader board of the Vuelta de España. This made for a very exciting and fascinating third week of racing, and a Shakespearian leadership struggle, where his designated team leaders, Roglic and Vingegaard, seemed both keen and hesitant to set the hierarchy straight. Finally, after Kuss held his own in the toughest mountain stage to Angliru, team management decided that it was Kuss' time to shine, resulting in an unprecedented 1-2-3 podium by Team Jumbo Visma in the final classification.

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: 2

Lance won Stages 3 and 4. He would win the 2004 Tour de Georgia. Lance rode for U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team presented by Berry Floor in the 2004 Tour de Georgia. He won by 24 seconds over Jens Voight. Jens rode for Team CSC. Gord Fraser won the points classification. Jason McCartney won the King of the Mountains classification. Gord and Jason rode for Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: Christian Vandevelde

In May 2008, 20 years after Hampsten's win, the new American team Garmin-Chipotle (aka Team Slipstream-Chipotle, before Garmin became a sponsor) won the team time trial in stage 1, and Vandevelde, as the first member of the team to finish, became the second American to wear the pink jersey. Of the other three choices, Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton were banned for doping offenses at the time of the 2008 Giro, and Fred Rodriguez was riding in the US.

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: La Vie Claire

La Vie Claire was perhaps the stongest team to ever ride the tour, with three-time winner Greg Lemond and 5-time winner Bernard Hinault. It support riders were impressive as well, with Canadian great Steve Bauer and Andy Hampsten, who went on to lead to powerful 7-Eleven and Motorola teams and win the Giro D'Italia. In 1986, it was strong enough to take the two top spots on the podium despite supporting two team leaders - Lemond and Hinault. Hampsten finished fourth and won best young rider.

From Quiz Cycling; Team USA (and a Canadian)

Answer: Chris Horner

Christopher Brandon Horner (Okinawa, Japan, 23 October 1971) was a successful American cyclist in the European professional peloton. He achieved numerous top-ten finishes in prestigious races like the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. Horner's most significant achievement, however, came in 2013 when he won the Vuelta a España, the third Grand Tour on the cycling calendar, becoming the oldest winner of a Grand Tour at the age of 41. Following his career, Horner became a talking head at NBC and was responsible for multiple You Tube channels, focusing on professional cycling and dirt bike racing.

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: Points Classification

Lance rode for Discovery Channel. Lance placed fourth overall in the 2005 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. Discovery Channel won the team classification. Íñigo Landaluze won the 2005 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. Íñigo rode for Euskaltel-Euskadi. Iván Gutiérrez won the King of the Mountains classification. Iván rode for Illes Balears.

From Quiz American Cyclists

Answer: 40.27 kph

Lance averaged a whopping 25.03 mph in the 1999 Tour. Super Mario holds the record for fastest road stage, at 50.35 kph on the fourth stage of that same year.

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Greg Lemond

In 1989, Lemond trailed Fignon by 50 seconds entering the final stage of the race, a 24.5km time trial. It appeared Fignon had an insurmountable lead, but Lemond beat him by 58 seconds, averaging a spectacular 54.545 kph (about 32.7 mph). Just how fast is that? The prologue record, set by Chris Boardman over 7 km, is only 0.6 kph faster.

From Quiz Lance Armstrong

Answer: 4th

Abraham Olano won the 1998 Vuelta a España. Abraham rode for Banesto. Fernando Escartín placed second overall. Fernando rode for Kelme. José María Jiménez placed third when the 1998 Vuelta a España came to an end. José rode for Banesto. José also won the King of the Mountains classification. All the top three finishers for the 1998 Vuelta a España were Spaniards. Lance placed fourth, just two minutes and eighteen seconds behind Abraham. Lance rode for U.S. Postal Service. Fabrizio Guidi won the points classification. He rode for Team Polte. Banesto won the team classification.

From Quiz US Cyclists in the Grand Tours

Answer: Greg LeMond

In his first Tour de France in 1984, LeMond finished third, as well as winning the white jersey for best young rider, on his way to six career Grand Tour podiums (5 at the Tour, including three wins, and one at the Giro). The other choices were the next three Americans to achieve Grand Tour podium finishes: Andy Hampsten (1st, 1988 Giro), Bobby Julich (3rd, 1998 Tour), and Lance Armstrong (1st, 1999 Tour).

From Quiz Americans in the Tour

Answer: Chris Carmichael

Chris Carmichael did not finish his one Tour attempt in 1986. He went on to become a cycling coach, and Lance Armstrong has become his most well known client.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:52 AM

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