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 . 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 by winning four mountain stages and two time trials. The result being a margin of victory exceeding 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. Teams 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: De Kova–Lejeune La Casera–Peña Bahamontes Pre-race favourites 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. Ocaña, who was in great shape, was now the main favourite, with Fuente, Poulidor and Thévenet as his biggest threats. Ocaña was not the clear favourite; 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. Route and stages 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 . The highest point of elevation in the race was at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 8. Race overview Zoetemelk won the opening prologue,