Finger Counting - Sports

Sports

In some sports, like in individual time-trials in the Tour de France, an official gives a countdown on the fingers of his hand to a starting driver. At the start, there is a countdown from 5 to 1. The numbers in this system are given with the following system:

5
All fingers including the thumb
4
All fingers excluding the thumb
3
Thumb, index and middle finger
2
Index and middle finger
1
Thumb, but sometimes also the index finger
"Top"
All fingers are extended again, but the hand is held horizontal and moved away from the rider. This signals the rider can start.

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