At the 5 km mark of a cycle race, five cyclists were in this order from the front: Uday, Vimal, Wahid, Xavier and Yash. After that, Xavier overtook Wahid, then Yash overtook Wahid, then Xavier overtook Vimal, and then Yash overtook Vimal. Each time, a cyclist passed only the cyclist just in front of him, and there was no other overtaking. Who finished fourth?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Vimal
Write the order from the front and change it one overtaking at a time; each overtaking swaps two neighbours.
At the 5 km mark: Uday, Vimal, Wahid, Xavier, Yash
Xavier overtakes Wahid: Uday, Vimal, Xavier, Wahid, Yash
Yash overtakes Wahid: Uday, Vimal, Xavier, Yash, Wahid
Xavier overtakes Vimal: Uday, Xavier, Vimal, Yash, Wahid
Yash overtakes Vimal: Uday, Xavier, Yash, Vimal, Wahid
The fourth cyclist at the finish is Vimal
