| Super Prestige Pernod, race 12 of 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Route of the 1971 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 26 June – 18 July 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 20 + Prologue, including three split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,608 km (2,242 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 96h 45' 14" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1971 Tour de France was the 58th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,608-kilometre (2,242 mi) race consisted of 22 stages, including three split stages, starting in Mulhouse on 26 June and finishing at the Vélodrome de Vincennes in Paris on 18 July. There were three time trial stages and two rest days. Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team won the overall general classification, defending his title to win his third Tour de France in a row. Joop Zoetemelk (Flandria–Mars) finished second, 9:51 minutes behind, and Lucien Van Impe was third (Sonolor–Lejeune), just over 11 minutes in arrears.
Pre-race favourite Merckx took the first yellow jersey as general classification leader after his team won the prologue stage's team time trial. Merckx's teammate Rini Wagtmans took the Tour lead after the second of stage 1's three split stages, before returning it to his leader by the end of the day. The leading positions of the general classification became clearer after stage 2 when a sixteen-strong[a] breakaway group of mostly pre-race favourites ended with a margin of over nine minutes. On stage 8 in the Massif Central, Merckx's closest rival Luis Ocaña (Bic) attacked and won atop Puy de Dôme to move within just over 30 seconds of the race leader, just behind second-placed Zoetemelk.
In the Chartreuse Mountains on stage 10, Merckx had a tyre puncture and was distanced by a group of rivals, with Zoetemelk of the group taking the race lead. Another from the group, Ocaña, took the yellow jersey the next day as he soloed for 60 km (37 mi) to victory up to Orcières-Merlette in the Alps, ending with an overall lead of more than eight minutes. Merckx gained back close to two minutes the following stage as he broke away from the start with a small group in record-breaking speed to Marseille. Two days later in the Pyrenees on stage 14, a thunderstorm passed as the riders traversed the Col de Menté mountain pass. Race leader Ocaña crashed on the wet roads during the descent, and afterwards was hit by other riders. He left the race with injury, with Merckx reluctantly taking over the Tour lead. He comfortably held the yellow jersey for the remaining stages, ending the Tour with victory in the individual time trial held in Paris.
In the other race classifications, Merckx also won the points and the combination classifications. Van Impe won the mountains classification. The intermediate sprints classification was won by Zoetemelk's teammate Pieter Nassen. The winners of the team classification were Bic. The overall award for most combative rider was given to Ocaña. Merckx won the most stages, with four.
- ^ Wadley 1971, p. 11.
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