1973 Tour de France
Route of the 1973 Tour de France
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 30 June – 22 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 20 + Prologue, including six split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,090 km (2,541 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 122h 25' 34" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Luis Ocaña (ESP)
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(Bic) |
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| Second |
 Bernard Thévenet (FRA)
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(Peugeot–BP–Michelin) | |
| Third |
José-Manuel Fuente (ESP)
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(Kas–Kaskol) | |
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Points |
 Herman Van Springel (BEL)
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(Rokado) |
| Mountains |
Pedro Torres (ESP)
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(La Casera–Bahamontes) | |
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Combination |
 Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
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(Gitane–Frigécrème) |
| Sprints |
Marc Demeyer (BEL)
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(Flandria–Carpenter–Shimano) | |
| Team | Bic | ||
| Team Points | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | ||
The 1973 Tour de France was the 60th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 30 June and 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 4,090 km (2,541 mi). Eddy Merckx, winner of the previous four editions, did not start the 1973 Tour, partly to avoid angry French fans and partly to please his sponsor; instead he rode and won the 1973 Vuelta a España and the 1973 Giro d'Italia. In his absence, Luis Ocaña dominated the race, winning with a margin of more than 15 minutes.
In 1973, a new team classification was added: the team points classification, calculated by adding the three best stage rankings per team; it would be calculated until 1988.
The Italian teams did not join the 1973 Tour de France, because no top French cyclist rode the 1973 Giro d'Italia. The Tour started with 12 teams, each with 11 cyclists.
The teams entering the race were:
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 and the 1973 Giro d'Italia, and Merckx thought it was impossible to start in three grand tours 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. Among the Italian riders absent were world champion Marino Basso and former Tour winner Felice Gimondi were absent.
After the 1972 Tour de France, there were rumours that the 1973 Tour would become easier, to suit French cyclist Cyrille Guimard better. However, when the 1973 Tour route was announced in December 1972, the organisation had included three more mountains compared to 1972. The race started on 30 June, and had two rest days, in Divonne-les-Bains and Pyrénées 2000.
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