11. Which team had lost all of it's riders by the end of stage 6? (One of the National teams)
Poor Spain... and poor Julian Berrendero! Racing had continued in Spain throughout the war years, and Berrendero had won nearly everything there was to win, but the veteran racer was now 37 years of age, and this would be his 15th and final season racing. It was a team made for the mountains, but unfortunately for them the first 5 stages of the '49 Tour were flat and fast and included unfamiliar cobblestone roads. By the end of stage 5 only one Spaniard remained - Jose Serra, but he too abandoned the next day, and team director Joachim Rubio arrived back home three weeks early.
If you knew it was Spain, give yourself 3 points.
12. Which other team lost all of it's riders by the end of stage 10? (Also one of the National teams)
The Dutch riders, too, suffered from the fast pace of the opening stages, and by stage 6 they were already at half-strength with only 3 riders remaining. They made it to stage 10, but were eliminated at the finish for being outside of the time limit.
Any answer of Dutch/Holland/Netherlands/Pays-Bas gets you 3 points.
13. How many previous winners lined up for the start of the 1949 Tour? (Not counting the ersatz tours of 1940 through 1946)
Two - 1947 winner Jean Robic and 1938 &1948 winner Gino Bartali. No other previous (i.e. pre-war) winners competed again in the Tour.
If you knew Robic and Bartali, it's worth 3 more points.
14. The contract signed by Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali before the race, in which they agreed to work together under Alfredo Binda's command (on penalty of sanctions, expulsion, and destruction of reputation) is know as the "Treaty of ???"
The Treaty of Chiavari - "We the undersigned, Coppi Fausto and Bartali Gino, after much treaty and discussion (in the presence of the President of the ACCPI and the Technical Inspector of the UVI, Binda Alfredo), declare that we are totally in agreement of the opportunity to participate both on only one team of 12 riders in the next Tour de France. We also declare that we are totally in agreement to put at the complete disposal, united with our teammates, and under the direct instructions of team manager Binda Alfredo, submitting totally and (disciplinably) to whatever decisions team manager Binda Alfredo will think opportune to giving to the race team the best rendering for the team and to safeguard the prestige of Italian cycling. Moreover, we engage ourselves to compete in each stage in full communion and with best intentions, and full comaraderie, deciding to help one of us the other for the single aim of achieving the best possible result of either one or the other. Signed: Coppi Faustus Signed: Bartali Gino. Chiavari, 14 March 1949."
If you knew it was Chiavari, give yourself 7 points.
15. What Tour rider was known by the nickname "leatherhead"?
"Leatherhead", a.k.a. "Biquet", a.k.a. Jean Robic, had fractured his skull in a racing accident and rarely ever raced without a helmet after.
If you knew it was Robic, give yourself 3 points.
16. What popular French rider was 2nd overall on Saturday, underwent surgery on Sunday, then continued the Tour on Monday?
2nd on G.C. behind Robic at the 1947 Tour, Edouard Fachleitner started the '49 Tour with a serious saddle sore which, poorly-treated, became an abscess. On the rest day in Marseille, between stages 14 and 15, Fach went to the clinic with one of his team support personnel. After a couple of hours the teammate left the clinic, visibly shaken: "I've never seen anything like it - there was a jet of puss a meter-long ..." The doctors told Fach that he needed to stay in bed for a few days, but he continued the race the following day. Unfortunatly he and Stan Ockers had a serious crash, and Fachleitner finally had to abandone the Tour.
If you knew it was Edouard Fachleitner, give yourself 8 points. If you've ever had "a jet of puss a meter long", give yourself an extra 10 points.
17. Who was first rider over the category-2 climb "col d'Aspin", only to be run-over by his team's car on the descent?
French climber Apo Lazarides was first up the col d'Aspin, but something went wrong on the descent and he fell in front of his team car, which drove over him and his bike. Amazingly he was only slightly injured, but once the surprise wore-off he burst into tears and was inconsollable for several minutes. He recovered enough to finish 9th in Paris.
If you said Apo Lazarides, give yourself 6 points.
18. The Italian team had to obtain permission from the race organizers for the two stars, Coppi and Bartali, to use two different manufacturer's shifting systems. Which two manufacturers where they?
Straight out of "The Dancing Chain"... Coppi on Simplex and Bartali on Cervino.
If you knew Simplex and Cervino, give yourself 3 points. If you said "Campagnolo" for either rider, subtract a point from your score.
19. Who organized and directed the "Cadets Italiens" team? (famous racer, and also famous in the bicycle industry)
Cino Cinelli must have been quite a guy. He certainly did a little bit of everything cycling-related.
If you answered Cinelli, give yourself 5 points.
20. Gathering in Paris before the start, two members of the Italian team arrived one day later than the others; Coppi and Bartali. What was unusual about their departure from the express train on which they both arrived?
After riding the same express train all the way from Milan, Gino Bartali departed from the rear of the observation car, the last car of the train, while Fausto Coppi climbed off of the mail car, as far forward as you could get without climbing over the tender and into the cab of the engine. This "separate" arrival sent the French press buzzing about the rivalry between erstwhile "teammates" Bartali and Coppi.
If you know it was opposite ends of the same train, give yourself 10 points.