The 1973 Tour de France was the 60th Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

, taking place June 30 to July 22, 1973. It consisted of 20 stages over 4140.4 km, ridden at an average speed of 33.918 km/h. After winning the 1973 Vuelta a España and the 1973 Giro d'Italia

1973 Giro d'Italia

The 1973 Giro d'Italia was held from 18 May to 9 June 1973, starting from Verviers in Belgium. It was won by Eddy Merckx.This 56th edition covered 3,801 km at an average speed of 35.553 km/h, for a total of 20 stages.- General classification :...

, Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...

 did not participate in the Tour to avoid angry French fans.

In 1973, there were two team classification

Team classification

The team classification is a prize given in the Tour de France to the best team in the race. It has been awarded since 1930, and the calculation has changed throughout the years.-Calculation:...

s. The team classification based on the three best times per stage was still in use, and the team points classification, which was calculated by added the three best stage rankings, would be calculated until 1988.

Changes from the 1972 Tour de France

After the 1972 Tour de France, there were rumours that the 1973 Tour de France would become easier, to suit French cyclist Cyrille Guimard

Cyrille Guimard

Cyrille Guimard is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and then a television commentator...

 better. However, when the 1973 Tour route was announced in December 1972, the organisation had included three more mountains compared to 1972.

Participants

The winner of the previous four editions, Eddy Merckx had changed sponsors to the Italian Molteni. His contract said that he had to start in the 1973 Vuelta a España

1973 Vuelta a España

The 28th Vuelta a España , a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from April 26 to May 13, 1973. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of 3,061 km, and was won by Eddy Merckx of the Molteni cycling team...

 and the 1973 Giro d'Italia

1973 Giro d'Italia

The 1973 Giro d'Italia was held from 18 May to 9 June 1973, starting from Verviers in Belgium. It was won by Eddy Merckx.This 56th edition covered 3,801 km at an average speed of 35.553 km/h, for a total of 20 stages.- General classification :...

, and Merckx thought it was impossible to start in three grand tour

Grand Tour (cycling)

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...

s in one year, so he stayed away from the Tour. Ocana, who was in great shape, was now the main favourite, with Fuente, Poulidor and Thevenet as his biggest threats. Ocana was not the clear favorite; he had already crashed out of the Tour three times, and he was seen as fragile. Zoetemelk had changed teams, because he did not have the full support of his team leader.

The Italian teams did not join the 1973 Tour de France, because no top French cyclist joined the 1973 Giro d'Italia

1973 Giro d'Italia

The 1973 Giro d'Italia was held from 18 May to 9 June 1973, starting from Verviers in Belgium. It was won by Eddy Merckx.This 56th edition covered 3,801 km at an average speed of 35.553 km/h, for a total of 20 stages.- General classification :...

. This meant that world champion Marino Basso

Marino Basso

Marino Basso is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who won the World Cycling Championship in 1972.Basso was born at Rettorgole di Caldogno, in the Veneto...

 and former Tour winner Felice Gimondi

Felice Gimondi

Felice Gimondi is an Italian former professional racing cyclist.With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France , Giro...

 were absent.
The Tour started with the following 12 teams, each with 11 cyclists:

Gan-Mercier Sonolor Carpenter-Shimano-Flandria Peugeot-BP Bic Watney-Maes

Rokado Gitane-Frigecreme Canada Dry-Gazelle De Kova-Lejeune Kas La Casera-Bahamontes

Race details

Zoetemelk won the opening prologue, one second ahead of Poulidor. In the first part ofthe next stage, Teirlinck won and took over the lead. Ocana and Herman Van Springel

Herman Van Springel

Herman van Springel is a Belgian former road racing cyclist, from Grobbendonk, in the Flemish Campine or Kempen region.He was an accomplished time-trial rider, almost winning the Tour de France in 1968, when he was beaten in the last stage by Dutchman, Jan Janssen in a time-trial...

 fell down when a dog crossed the road, but both suffered no serious damage.
In the second part of that stage, Van Springel bridged the gap to Catieau, who had escaped. Van Springel did all the work to stay away, while Catieau did not help his team captain's rival. They stayed away until the end of the stage, where Catieau won the sprint, and Van Springel became the new race leader.

In the third stage, a group with Guimard and Ocana escaped. Van Springel, Zoetemelk, Fuentes, Thevenet and Poulidor were not in that group, and had to chase them. The group stayed away, Guimard won the sprint and Catieau became the race leader. More important for the final result was that Ocana won more than two minutes on Zoetemelk, and more than seven minutes on Fuente.

In stage 7, when the first mountains were climbed, Ocana attacked, and only Zoetemelk could follow. A few kilometers from the summit, Zoetemelk had to let Ocana go, and Ocana finished solo. Ocana became the new race leader, almost three minutes ahead of Zoetemelk.

In the eighth stage, Ocana and Fuente both attacked. Ocana and Fuente did not like each other, and when Fuente stopped working, Ocana was angry, especially when Fuente passed him just before the top of the Izoard to steal the points for the mountain classification. When Fuente had a flat tire, Ocana did not wait for him, and left him behind, beating him by one minute at the finish line. All the others were far behind: Thevenet and Martinez followed after seven minutes, the other pre-race favourites after twenty minutes.

In the thirteenth stage, Poulidor crashed, and was taken away with a helicopter.

In the sixteenth stage, the cyclists were slower than expected, and finished one hour after the latest time schedule. The train that they should have taken had already left, and they had to use buses.

In the time trial in stage 17, Fuente lost his second place in the general classification to Thevenet. Fuente tried to take it back in the mountain stage 18, but he failed and even lost some time.

Doping cases

Three cyclists tested positive during the 1973 Tour de France:

• Barry Hoban
  Barry Hoban
  Barry Hoban is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the previous holder of the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 to 1975...
  
  , after the 9th stage
• Claude Baud, after the 13th stage
• Michel Roques, after the 18th stage

All three received a fine of 1000 Swiss Francs, one month suspension and ten minutes penalty time in the general classification.

Stages

The 1973 Tour de France started on 30 June, and had two rest days, in Divonne-les-Bains and Pyrénées 2000.

Stage results

Stage	Date	Route	Terrain	Length	Winner
P	30 June	Scheveningen	Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...	7.1 km (4.4 mi)
1A	1 July	Scheveningen – Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...	Plain stage	84 km (52.2 mi)
1B		Rotterdam – Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....	Plain stage	137.5 km (85.4 mi)
2A	2 July	Sint-Niklaas	Team time trial Team time trial A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...	12.4 km (7.7 mi)	Watney-Maes
2B		Sint-Niklaas – Roubaix Roubaix Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:...	Plain stage	138 km (85.7 mi)
3	3 July	Roubaix – Reims Reims Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....	Plain stage	226 km (140.4 mi)
4	4 July	Reims – Nancy	Plain stage	214 km (133 mi)
5	5 July	Nancy – Mulhouse Mulhouse Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...	Stage with mountain(s)	188 km (116.8 mi)
6	6 July	Mulhouse – Divonne les Bains	Stage with mountain(s)	244.5 km (151.9 mi)
7A	8 July	Divonne les Bains – Gaillard Gaillard Gaillard is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.Gaillard is close to Geneva on the Swiss border. The biggest border crossing is called Moillesulaz and the second one is Fossard.-External links:*...	Stage with mountain(s)	86.5 km (53.7 mi)
7B		Gaillard – Méribel Méribel Méribel is a ski resort in the Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, situated near the town of Moutiers.Méribel refers to three neighbouring villages in the Les Allues commune of the Savoie département of France, near the town of Moûtiers , called Méribel Centre, Méribel-Mottaret and Méribel Village...	Stage with mountain(s)	150.5 km (93.5 mi)
8	9 July	Moutiers Moutiers Moutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...  – Les Orres Les Orres Les Orres is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.It is chiefly known for its ski resort: 34 alpine skiing runs, of runs.-Population:-References:*...	Stage with mountain(s)	237.5 km (147.6 mi)
9	10 July	Embrun Embrun, Hautes-Alpes Embrun is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Description:...  – Nice Nice Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...	Stage with mountain(s)	234.5 km (145.7 mi)
10	11 July	Nice – Aubagne Aubagne Aubagne is a commune located east of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.The French Foreign Legion has its headquarters there...	Stage with mountain(s)	222.5 km (138.3 mi)
11	12 July	Montpellier Montpellier -Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....  – Argelès-sur-Mer Argelès-sur-Mer Argelès-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies near Perpignan.-Geography:...	Plain stage	238 km (147.9 mi)
12A	13 July	Perpignan Perpignan -Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...  – Thuir Thuir Thuir is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies not far from Perpignan. It is located in a plain between the natural zones of Els Aspres and El Riberal.-References:* -External links:*...	Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...	28.3 km (17.6 mi)
12B		Thuir – Pyrénées 2000	Stage with mountain(s)	76 km (47.2 mi)
13	15 July	Bourg-Madame Bourg-Madame Bourg-Madame is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies right on the border with Spain. It abuts directly onto the Spanish town of Puigcerdà, and is near the Spanish exclave of Llívia....  – Luchon	Stage with mountain(s)	235 km (146 mi)
14	16 July	Luchon – Pau	Stage with mountain(s)	227.5 km (141.4 mi)
15	17 July	Pau – Fleurance Fleurance Fleurance is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...	Plain stage	137 km (85.1 mi)
16A	18 July	Fleurance – Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...	Plain stage	210 km (130.5 mi)
16B		Bordeaux – Lac Lac Lac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the genera Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.The...	Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...	12.4 km (7.7 mi)
17	19 July	Sainte Foy la Grande – Brive la Gaillarde	Plain stage	248 km (154.1 mi)
18	20 July	Brive – Puy de Dome	Stage with mountain(s)	216.5 km (134.5 mi)
19	21 July	Bourges Bourges Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...  – Versailles Versailles Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...	Plain stage	233.5 km (145.1 mi)
20A	22 July	Versailles	Individual time trial Individual time trial An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...	16 km (9.9 mi)
20B		Versailles – Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...	Plain stage	89 km (55.3 mi)

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1		Bic	122h 25' 34"
2		Peugeot	+15' 51"
3		Kas	+17' 15"
4		Gitane	+26' 22"
5		Sonolor	+30' 20"
6		Rokado	+32' 01"
7		Gan	+33' 02"
8		Bic	+35' 51"
9		Kas	+36' 18"
10		Peugeot	+36' 59"

Final general classification (11–87)
Rank	Name	Team	Time
11		Peugeot	+37' 43"
12		Gan	+40' 49"
13		La Casera	+47' 30"
14		Bic	+49' 12"
15		Kas	+49' 20"
16		Rokado	+49' 38"
17		De Kova	+49' 54"
18		Flandria	+51' 22"
19		Bic	+52' 18"
20		Kas	+53' 05"
21		Bic	+1h 04' 49"
22		Peugeot	+1h 08' 41"
23		Kas	+1h 18' 49"
24		Flandria	+1h 19' 18"
25		La Casera	+1h 20' 11"
26		Gan	+1h 20' 33"
27		Bic	+1h 21' 06"
28		Bic	+1h 22' 07"
29		Kas	+1h 25' 27"
30		Peugeot	+1h 27' 51"
31		Bic	+1h 29' 19"
32		Bic	+1h 34' 06"
33		Canada Dry	+1h 34' 36"
34		Flandria	+1h 36' 03"
35		Gitane	+1h 36' 10"
36		Peugeot	+1h 47' 42"
37		Peugeot	+1h 49' 20"
38		La Casera	+1h 49' 23"
39		La Casera	+1h 51' 40"
40		Kas	+1h 55' 58"
41		Kas	+1h 58' 07"
42		Gitane	+2h 01' 12"
43		Gan	+2h 03' 00"
44		De Kova	+2h 03' 38"
45		Canada Dry	+2h 05' 13"
46		Gan	+2h 07' 14"
47		Kas	+2h 08' 07"
48		Sonolor	+2h 09' 04"
49		Gitane	+2h 09' 22"
50		Kas	+2h 09' 40"
51		Sonolor	+2h 10' 41"
52		Rokado	+2h 13' 02"
53		Bic	+2h 13' 56"
54		La Casera	+2h 14' 49"
55		Flandria	+2h 15' 21"
56		Peugeot	+2h 15' 55"
57		Gitane	+2h 23' 21"
58		De Kova	+2h 23' 35"
59		Gitane	+2h 24' 21"
60		Sonolor	+2h 24' 44"
61		Sonolor	+2h 28' 25"
62		Flandria	+2h 29' 05"
63		Gitane	+2h 33' 41"
64		Gitane	+2h 34' 07"
65		Flandria	+2h 34' 49"
66		Rokado	+2h 38' 02"
67		Gan	+2h 38' 43"
68		Peugeot	+2h 42' 03"
69		Peugeot	+2h 43' 05"
70		Canada Dry	+2h 43' 38"
71		Sonolor	+2h 45' 45"
72		Flandria	+2h 46' 08"
73		Gitane	+2h 47' 21"
74		Flandria	+2h 50' 33"
75		Canada Dry	+2h 54' 39"
76		Gan	+2h 59' 21"
77		Bic	+3h 01' 19"
78		Sonolor	+3h 04' 24"
79		Gan	+3h 05' 20"
80		Sonolor	+3h 07' 58"
81		Rokado	+3h 32' 23"
82		Gan	+3h 14' 21"
83		De Kova	+3h 42' 20"
84		De Kova	+4h 17' 31"
85		De Kova	+4h 33' 09"
86		De Kova	+4h 36' 56"
87		De Kova	+4h 51' 09"

Points classification

Final points classification (1–10)

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1		Rokado	187
2		Gitane	168
3		Bic	145
4		Peugeot	139
5		Flandria	139
6		Gan	110
7		Gitane	110
8		Sonolor	109
9		Gan	89
10		Peugeot	89

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10)

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1		La Casera	225
2		Kas	216
3		Bic	192
4		Peugeot	119
5		Sonolor	107
6		Gitane	83
7		Kas	80
8		Bic	46
9		Kas	46
10		Gan	38

Team classification

Final team classification

Rank	Team	Time
1	Bic	369h 31' 55"
2	Peugeot	+20' 23"
3	Kas	+20' 42"
4	Mercier	+23' 04"
5	Rokado	+1h 40' 42"
6	Sonolor	+1h 45' 56"
7	Gitane	+1h 58' 57"
8	La Casera	+2h 01' 50"
9	Flandria	+2h 09' 21"
10	Lejeune	+3h 09' 21"
11	Gazelle	+3h 09' 21"

Combination classification

Final combination classification (1–5)

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1		Gitane	20
2		Sonolor	26
3		Peugeot	33
4		Rokado	50
5		Flandria	55

Sprints classification

Final sprints classification (1–5)

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1		Flandria	105
2		Gan	70
3		Sonolor	60
4		Sonolor	28
5		Sonolor	16