 Route of the 1970 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 27 June – 19 July 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 23 + Prologue, including five split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,254 km (2,643 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 119h 31' 49" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1970 Tour de France was the 57th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 19 July, with 23 stages covering a distance of 4,254 km (2,643 mi). It was the second victory for Belgian Eddy Merckx, who also won the mountains classification, and nearly won every major jersey for a 2nd year in a row but finished second in the points classification behind Walter Godefroot by five points. The previous year only one rider was able to keep him within 20:00 and in 1970 a mere four other riders were within 20:00, with only debutant Joop Zoetemelk finishing inside 15:00 of Merckx.