 Route of the 1972 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 1–22 July 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 20 + Prologue, including four split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,846 km (2,390 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 108h 17' 18" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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← 1971 1973 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1972 Tour de France was the 59th edition of theTour de France, one of cycling'sGrand Tours. It took place from 1 to 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 3,846 km (2,390 mi). After riding strongly in the first two weeks of the race and being the closest GC contender toEddy Merckx,Luis Ocaña crashed, in thePyrenees, leaving Merckx to battleCyrille Guimard for the win. Guimard, having won four stages, had to leave the race after stage 17 in second place (he already was 7:58 behind at that point), but was given thecombativity award after the race.[1]
The 1972 Tour started with 12 teams, each with 11 cyclists, a total of 132.[2]
The teams entering the race were:[2]
In the previous year,Luis Ocaña was on his way to beatEddy Merckx, when he fell as leader and had to give up. Everybody expected Merckx and Ocana to battle for the victory in 1972.[1] Ocana felt that he could have won the 1971 Tour, and Merckx did not like the comments that he did not deserve the 1971 victory, and both wanted to show their strengths.[3] Merckx had won important races before the Tour started, including the1972 Giro d'Italia, and was also the reigning world champion. Ocana had won less races, but won theCriterium du Dauphiné Libéré.[3] The most important other participants were consideredRaymond Poulidor,Felice Gimondi,Joop Zoetemelk andBernard Thévenet.[3]
José Manuel Fuente, who had won the1972 Vuelta a España and finished second in the1972 Giro d'Italia, did not compete, as his team decided they had already been in too many hard races.[4]Herman Van Springel had announced four days prior to the Tour that he would leave his team after his contract would end at the end of 1972. His team then removed him from the Tour squad.[5]
For the first time since1947, the Tour de France was entirely in France.[6] Thehighest point of elevation in the race was 2,556 m (8,386 ft) at the summit tunnel of theCol du Galibier mountain pass on stage 14a.[7][8]
Three days before the Tour started on 1 July, the schedule was changed: the final time trial was split, with the first 42 km as a time trial in the morning, and the last 89 km as a mass-start stage in the afternoon.[9] There were two rest days, in Bayonne andOrcières.[10]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1 July | Angers | 7.2 km (4.5 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 1 | 2 July | Angers toSaint-Brieuc | 235.5 km (146.3 mi) |  | Plain stage |  Cyrille Guimard (FRA) |
| 2 | 3 July | Saint-Brieuc toLa Baule | 206.5 km (128.3 mi) | | Plain stage | Rik Van Linden (BEL) |
| 3a | 4 July | Pornichet toSaint-Jean-de-Monts | 161.0 km (100.0 mi) | | Plain stage |  Ercole Gualazzini (ITA) |
| 3b | Merlin-Plage | 16.2 km (10.1 mi) | | Team time trial | Molteni | |
| 4 | 5 July | Merlin-Plage toRoyan | 236.0 km (146.6 mi) | | Plain stage | Cyrille Guimard (FRA) |
| 5a | 6 July | Royan toBordeaux | 133.5 km (83.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Walter Godefroot (BEL) |
| 5b | Bordeaux | 12.7 km (7.9 mi) | | Individual time trial | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | |
| 6 | 7 July | Bordeaux toBayonne | 205.0 km (127.4 mi) | | Plain stage |  Leo Duyndam (NED) |
| 8 July | Bayonne | Rest day | ||||
| 7 | 9 July | Bayonne toPau | 220.5 km (137.0 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | Yves Hézard (FRA) |
| 8 | 10 July | Pau toLuchon | 163.5 km (101.6 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 9 | 11 July | Luchon toColomiers | 179.0 km (111.2 mi) |  | Hilly stage | Jos Huysmans (BEL) |
| 10 | 12 July | Castres toLa Grande-Motte | 210.0 km (130.5 mi) | | Plain stage | Willy Teirlinck (BEL) |
| 11 | 13 July | Carnon-Plage toMont Ventoux | 207.0 km (128.6 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Bernard Thévenet (FRA) |
| 12 | 14 July | Carpentras toOrcières-Merlette | 192.0 km (119.3 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Lucien Van Impe (BEL) |
| 15 July | Orcières-Merlette | Rest day | ||||
| 13 | 16 July | Orcières-Merlette toBriançon | 201.0 km (124.9 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 14a | 17 July | Briançon toValloire | 51.0 km (31.7 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 14b | Valloire toAix-les-Bains | 151.0 km (93.8 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Cyrille Guimard (FRA) | |
| 15 | 18 July | Aix-les-Bains toLe Revard | 28.0 km (17.4 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Cyrille Guimard (FRA) |
| 16 | 19 July | Aix-les-Bains toPontarlier | 198.5 km (123.3 mi) | | Hilly stage | Willy Teirlinck (BEL) |
| 17 | 20 July | Pontarlier toBallon d'Alsace | 213.0 km (132.4 mi) | | Hilly stage | Bernard Thévenet (FRA) |
| 18 | 21 July | Vesoul toAuxerre | 257.5 km (160.0 mi) | | Plain stage | Marinus Wagtmans (NED) |
| 19 | 22 July | Auxerre toVersailles | 230.0 km (142.9 mi) | | Plain stage | Joseph Bruyère (BEL) |
| 20a | 23 July | Versailles | 42.0 km (26.1 mi) | | Individual time trial | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 20b | Versailles to Paris | 89.0 km (55.3 mi) | | Plain stage | Willy Teirlinck (BEL) | |
| Total | 3,846 km (2,390 mi)[13] | |||||
Merckx won the prologue, beating his rivals by some seconds.[3] In the first stage,Cyrille Guimard won the sprint, and because of the bonification seconds took over the leader's jersey in the general classification.[3] In the next stages, Merckx tried to win back time by winning bonification seconds in intermediate sprints and at the finish, but Guimard used the same tactic. Merckx won back the first position thanks to the bonification seconds after theteam time trial in stage 3b, but lost it again in the fourth stage.[3]Merckx won the time trial in the second part of the fifth stage, but Guimard came third, retaining the lead. After the sixth stage, Guimard was 11 seconds ahead of Merckx. The third place was occupied by a teammate of Merckx, and Ocaña was in fourth place, one minute behind Guimard.[3]
In the seventh stage, the Tour reached the Pyrenees. Ocaña attacked two times, and the second time only Merckx could follow. When Ocaña punctured, and later crashed with Thevenet, Merckx was away without him. Another group, including Zoetemelk and Guimard, had reached Merckx, and crossed the finish line together. Ocana finished in sixth place, losing 1 minute and 49 seconds. Thevenet lost more than six minutes that stage, and lost all hope of winning. He was taken to the hospital to see if the crash had caused serious injuries, but could start the next stage.[3] In the eighth stage,Lucien Van Impe attacked on the last climb. Merckx caught him and won the stage, with Ocana only eight seconds behind him. Guimard lost three minutes, and Merckx overtook him in the general classification.[3] In the ninth stage,Roger Pingeon left the race. He did not play an important role in the general classification, but his team expected him to help his teammate Thevenet in the rest of the race.[3]
The eleventh stage ended with the climb up toMont Ventoux. After Merckx' team had pushed the pace such that most cyclists in the peloton had dropped, Ocana attacked four times. Every time, Merckx was able to chase him, together with only Poulidor. Poulidor then attacked, but could not get away. Some other cyclists were able to get back, including Thevenet. Thevenet then attacked, and left the others behind, winning the stage.[3]
Merckx expected Ocana to attack in the twelfth stage, so he stayed with him. WhenJoaquim Agostinho andLucien Van Impe attacked, Merckx let them go and stayed with Ocana, as Merckx only cared about Ocana; he did not want Ocana to win back time, and did not want him to win the stage which could give him inspiration in the next stages.[14] On the thirteenth stage, Merckx' team first set a pace that eliminated all but 16 cyclists at the start of the climb of theVars.Raymond Delisle escaped from that group, but Merckx and Agostinho chased and passed him after the summit. On the way down, Guimard was able to catch Merckx, who had dropped Delisle and Agostinho. Climbing the Izoard, Merckx dropped Guimard, and soloed to the victory. By then, Merckx was leading the general classification firmly, almost five minutes ahead of Ocana.[3]
The first part of the fourteenth stage was also won by Merckx, who outsprinted Zoetemelk. Ocana lost two minutes, and Guimard overtook him in the general classification.[3]In the second part of the fourteenth stage, Ocana lost more than five minutes. Guimard and Merckx sprinted for the stage victory, and the photo finish gave the victory to Guimard.[3] Ocana left the race after that stage; he had contracted a lung infection after his fall in the seventh stage.[3] The stage ended with two laps of 1800 m; when it was found out that one group had missed one lap, the rules said that this group would have to ride that lap again, but the jury decided to use the times clocked after the first lap.[15]
The fifteenth stage was also narrowly won by Guimard; Merckx had already raised one hand to cheer.[3] In the seventeenth stage, Guimard struggled with his health. He needed medical attention during the entire stage, and lost two minutes on the final climb. After 10 km in the eighteenth stage, he left the race.[3]
Merckx was now leading by more than ten minutes, and was certain to win the race. The second place was still not certain; Poulidor and Gimondi were separated only by one second. In the time trial on the last day, won by Merckx, the decision fell: Gimondi came in second, Poulidor fourth, and Gimondi overtook Poulidor in the general classification. After the finish in Paris, Merckx gave the green jersey that he received for winning the points classification to Guimard, who otherwise would have been the winner of that classification.[1]
Guimard had been treated byBernard Sainz. After Guimard left the race, there were rumours that Guimard had been using doping in the last days of the Tour; to end these rumours, he requested that after the eighteenth stage, he would also be checked for doping.[16]
In 2000, Sainz wrote the book "The stunning revelation of Dr. Mabuse", where he denied that he was responsible.[17]
Later that year, Eddy Merckx finished second in the athlete of the year poll, behindMark Spitz.[18]
There were several classifications in the 1972 Tour de France, three of them awardingjerseys to their leaders.[19] The most important was thegeneral classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[20]
Additionally, there was apoints classification, where cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[21]
There was also amountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as either first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, but was not identified with a jersey in 1972.[22]
Another classification was thecombination classification. This classification was calculated as a combination of the other classifications, its leader wore the white jersey.[23]
The fifth individual classification was theintermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but only points were awarded on intermediate sprints. In 1972, this classification had no associated jersey.[24]
For theteam classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellowcaps.[24]
In addition, there was acombativity award, in which a jury composed of journalists gave points after mass-start stages to the cyclist they considered most combative. The split stages each had a combined winner.[25] At the conclusion of the Tour, Cyrille Guimard won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists.[10] Three further daily individual awards were given for good humour, teamwork and elegance. Overall awards were given for these also, with Bernard Thévenet seen as the funniest,Martin Van Den Bossche the best teammate and Felice Gimondi the most elegant.[26] TheSouvenir Henri Desgrange was given to the first rider to pass the memorial to Tour founderHenri Desgrange near the summit of theCol du Galibier on stage 14a. This prize was won byJoop Zoetemelk.[27]
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the winner of thegeneral classification |  | Denotes the winner of thepoints classification | |
 | Denotes the winner of thecombination classification | |||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Molteni | 108h 17' 18" |
| 2 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | + 10' 41" |
| 3 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | + 11' 34" |
| 4 | Lucien Van Impe (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | + 16' 45" |
| 5 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) | Beaulieu–Flandria | + 19' 09" |
| 6 | Mariano Martinez (FRA) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | + 21' 31" |
| 7 | Yves Hézard (FRA) | Sonolor–Lejeune | + 21' 52" |
| 8 |  Joaquim Agostinho (POR) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | + 34' 16" |
| 9 | Bernard Thévenet (FRA) | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | + 37' 11" |
| 10 | Ward Janssens (BEL) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | + 42' 33" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Molteni | 197 |
| 2 | Rik Van Linden (BEL) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 135 |
| 3 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) | Beaulieu–Flandria | 133 |
| 4 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | 122 |
| 5 | Frans Verbeeck (BEL) | Watney–Avia | 118 |
| 6 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | 112 |
| 7 | Marino Basso (ITA) | Salvarani | 112 |
| 8 | Willy Teirlinck (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 110 |
| 9 | Lucien Van Impe (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 105 |
| 10 | Mariano Martinez (FRA) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 89 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucien Van Impe (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 229 |
| 2 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Molteni | 211 |
| 3 | Joaquim Agostinho (POR) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 138 |
| 4 | Mathieu Pustjens (NED) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 109 |
| 5 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) | Beaulieu–Flandria | 104 |
| 6 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | 79 |
| 7 | Raymond Delisle (FRA) | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | 55 |
| 8 | Bernard Thévenet (FRA) | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | 49 |
| 9 | Mariano Martinez (FRA) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 43 |
| 10 | Roger Swerts (BEL) | Molteni | 35 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Molteni | 4 |
| 2 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | 13 |
| 3 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) | Beaulieu–Flandria | 13 |
| 4 | Lucien Van Impe (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 14 |
| 5 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | 19 |
| 6 | Mariano Martinez (FRA) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 25 |
| 7 | Joaquim Agostinho (POR) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 26 |
| 8 | Yves Hézard (FRA) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 34.5 |
| 9 |  Leif Mortensen (DEN) | Bic | 42.5 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willy Teirlinck (BEL) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 61 |
| 2 | Robert Mintkiewicz (FRA) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 48 |
| 3 |  Barry Hoban (GBR) | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | 28 |
| 4 | Giacinto Santambrogio (ITA) | Salvarani | 28 |
| 5 | Raymond Riotte (FRA) | Sonolor–Lejeune | 27 |
| 6 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Molteni | 16 |
| 7 | Gerben Karstens (NED) | Rokado–Colders | 15 |
| 8 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) | Beaulieu–Flandria | 13 |
| 9 | Jos van der Vleuten (NED) | Goudsmit–Hoff | 10 |
| 10 | Joaquim Agostinho (POR) | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | 9 |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | 327h 44' 34" |
| 2 | Van Cauter–Magniflex–de Gribaldy | + 8' 29" |
| 3 | Molteni | + 12' 45" |
| 4 | Sonolor–Lejeune | + 17' 45" |
| 5 | Bic | + 46' 09" |
| 6 | Salvarani | + 56' 27" |
| 7 | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | + 58' 46" |
| 8 | Beaulieu–Flandria | + 1h 43' 13" |
| 9 | Rokado–Colders | + 3h 21' 13" |
| 10 | Goudsmit–Hoff | + 3h 21' 13" |
Media related toTour de France 1972 at Wikimedia Commons
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