 Tino Conti and Freddy Maertens attacked on the thirteenth lap and managed to get a time gap of 25 " on the peloton , but still trailed Thévenet by 1 ' 10 " at the conclusion of the lap . Through the fifteenth lap , the duo was able to obtain over a minute lead on the peloton ; however , Thévenet was still increasing his advantage over the race as a whole , with his lead reaching three minutes over the peloton . The field began to increase its tempo in the sixteenth lap and close the gap to the Conti @-@ Maertens group , which prompted Maertens to wait up for the peloton , while Conti rode solo . On the seventeenth lap , a chase group with many race contenders – including Raymond Poulidor , Francesco Moser , Eddy Merckx , Maertens , and Herman Van Springel – formed and caught Conti . By the completion of the nineteenth lap , the chase group had shrunked to nine riders and Thévenet 's lead had dropped to 2 ' 05 " . Gimondi dropped out of the race the same lap . 
