 Following the victory , Merckx told the press that he felt lucky that Bernard Thévenet was weakened from his efforts on the road . In regards to his sprint against Raymond Poulidor , Merckx stated that he feared only an external setback because " In the sprint [ he ] could not lose . Despite Thévenet missing out on a medal , Raymond Poulidor stated that the French were content with the results and worked great together . Reflecting on the race , De Telegraaf writer Charles Taylor stated he felt this race was " one of the finest and most sensational bicycle races in recent years . " Taylor noted a poor showing by the Dutch riders , citing that only two managed to finish the race . Taylor believed that the Dutch participants competed in too many criteriums between the end of the Tour de France and the start of the World Championships , which led to them not having fresh enough legs for the race . De Telegraaf also reported that there were over a 100 @,@ 000 spectators for the men 's road race . Francesco Moser was found to have had a disappointing performance as he placed seventh on the day , in part because he was suffering from a leg cramp . 
