With remaining of stage 2, Zoetemelk led climbing specialists Lucien Van Impe and José Manuel Fuente (Kas-Kaskol) with attack on a depleted peloton over the summit of the second-category rated Vosges climb of Col du Firstplan. A Merckx move brought back the attackers on the descent, which saw the formation of an elite sixteen-rider breakaway group that included all the pre-race favourites, except for Joaquim Agostinho and Lucien Aimar. In gale-force winds, the leaders reached speeds of on the flat terrain, ending with a nine-and-a-half-minute advantage over the peloton at the finish in Strasbourg. On the wet cinder track of Stade Tivoli, Herman Van Springel led-out teammate Merckx to victory in a frantic sprint finish with Roger De Vlaeminck of Flandria-Mars. The points gained by De Vlaeminck put him in the green jersey. The fifteen riders that ended in the breakaway now held an advantage of close to nine minutes in the general classification. Of those competing for the overall prize, they were unreservedly now the leader of their team, halting any uncertainty over hierarchy.