Tour de France 1972
Tour de France 1972 — Eddy Merckx wins overall after 20 stages
Edition key stats
GC Winner
Eddy Merckx
Sonolor
20
Stages
3,846
Total km
35.4
Avg km/h
41,138
Total Elev. m
3
Time Trials
Stage profile breakdown
9
Flat
45%
8
Mountain
40%
3
Time Trial
15%
Stage winners and teams — Cyrille Guimard takes 4 stages
Final general classification (top 30)
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | MOLTENI | 108h 17' 18'' | |
| 02 | SALVARANI | 108h 27' 59'' | |
| 03 | GAN-MERCIER-HUTCHINSON | 108h 28' 52'' | |
| 04 | SONOLOR | 108h 34' 03'' | |
| 05 | BEAULIEU-FLANDRIA | 108h 36' 27'' | |
| 06 | DE GRIBALDY-MAGNIFLEX-VAN CAUTER | 108h 38' 49'' | |
| 07 | SONOLOR | 108h 39' 10'' | |
| 08 | DE GRIBALDY-MAGNIFLEX-VAN CAUTER | 108h 51' 34'' | |
| 09 | PEUGEOT-BP-MICHELIN | 108h 54' 29'' | |
| 10 | DE GRIBALDY-MAGNIFLEX-VAN CAUTER | 108h 59' 51'' | |
| 11 | PEUGEOT-BP-MICHELIN | 109h 03' 45'' | |
| 12 | BIC | 109h 03' 57'' | |
| 13 | SALVARANI | 109h 04' 59'' | |
| 14 | MOLTENI | 109h 06' 46'' | |
| 15 | MOLTENI | 109h 16' 51'' | |
| 16 | WATNEY-AVIA | 109h 17' 27'' | |
| 17 | ROKADO | 109h 20' 59'' | |
| 18 | GOUDSMIT-HOFF | 109h 21' 27'' | |
| 19 | GAN-MERCIER-HUTCHINSON | 109h 23' 37'' | |
| 20 | ROKADO | 109h 27' 27'' | |
| 21 | PEUGEOT-BP-MICHELIN | 109h 32' 09'' | |
| 22 | MOLTENI | 109h 38' 46'' | |
| 23 | DE GRIBALDY-MAGNIFLEX-VAN CAUTER | 109h 41' 09'' | |
| 24 | ROKADO | 109h 42' 17'' | |
| 25 | SONOLOR | 109h 43' 51'' | |
| 26 | MOLTENI | 109h 44' 38'' | |
| 27 | SONOLOR | 109h 47' 30'' | |
| 28 | MOLTENI | 109h 48' 47'' | |
| 29 | BIC | 109h 48' 53'' | |
| 30 | BIC | 109h 49' 24'' |
BE
IT
FR
NL
ES
PT
DK
DE
LUStage winners (12 riders)
Cyrille Guimard
4 stages
Stages 1, 4, 14, 15
Eddy Merckx
3 stages
Stages 5, 8, 13
Willy Teirlinck
3 stages
Stages 10, 16, 20
Bernard Thevenet
2 stages
Stages 11, 17
Rik Van Linden
1 stage
Stages 2
Molteni
1 stage
Stages 3
Léo Duyndam
1 stage
Stages 6
Yves Hezard
1 stage
Stages 7
Joseph Huysmans
1 stage
Stages 9
Lucien Van Impe
1 stage
Stages 12
Marinus ''Rini'' Wagtmans
1 stage
Stages 18
Joseph Bruyere
1 stage
Stages 19
Teams at the 1972 edition
| Team | Riders | Best GC |
|---|---|---|
| MOLTENI | 9 | #1 |
| SALVARANI | 8 | #2 |
| GAN-MERCIER-HUTCHINSON | 6 | #3 |
| SONOLOR | 8 | #4 |
| BEAULIEU-FLANDRIA | 5 | #5 |
| DE GRIBALDY-MAGNIFLEX-VAN CAUTER | 9 | #6 |
| PEUGEOT-BP-MICHELIN | 9 | #9 |
| BIC | 7 | #12 |
| WATNEY-AVIA | 6 | #16 |
| ROKADO | 8 | #17 |
| GOUDSMIT-HOFF | 6 | #18 |
| GITANE | 7 | #50 |
Stage profiles in the 1972 edition
9
Flat
4
Mountains flat finish
4
Mountains uphill finish
3
Hills flat finish
Compare with other editions of the Tour de France
Stage-by-stage data: all 20 stages of the 1972 Tour de France
Edition difficulty profile
All 20 stages
| Stage | Date | Route | Dist. | Winner | Profile | Elev. | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 1 Jul | Angers → Saint-Brieuc | 7 km | Cyrille Guimard | 77 m | 48.8 km/h | |
| Stage 2 | 2 Jul | Saint-Brieuc → La Baule | 236 km | Rik Van Linden | 2,010 m | 39.2 km/h | |
| Stage 3 | 3 Jul | Merlin-Plage → Merlin-Plage | 207 km | Molteni | 2,233 m | 40.0 km/h | |
| Stage 4 | 4 Jul | Merlin-Plage → Royan | 161 km | Cyrille Guimard | 884 m | 40.8 km/h | |
| Stage 5 | 4 Jul | Bordeaux → Bordeaux | 16 km | Eddy Merckx | Flat | — | 10.0 km/h |
| Stage 6 | 5 Jul | Bordeaux → Bayonne | 236 km | Léo Duyndam | 1,100 m | 43.9 km/h | |
| Stage 7 | 6 Jul | Bayonne → Pau | 134 km | Yves Hezard | 858 m | 44.6 km/h | |
| Stage 8 | 6 Jul | Pau → Luchon | 13 km | Eddy Merckx | Flat | — | 47.4 km/h |
| Stage 9 | 7 Jul | Luchon → Colomiers | 205 km | Joseph Huysmans | 1,130 m | 35.7 km/h | |
| Stage 10 | 9 Jul | Castres → La Grande-Motte | 221 km | Willy Teirlinck | 4,000 m | 36.5 km/h | |
| Stage 11 | 10 Jul | Carnon → Mont Ventoux | 164 km | Bernard Thevenet | 4,000 m | 33.3 km/h | |
| Stage 12 | 11 Jul | Carpentras → Orcières-Merlette | 179 km | Lucien Van Impe | 2,000 m | 38.0 km/h | |
| Stage 13 | 12 Jul | Orcières-Merlette → Briançon | 210 km | Eddy Merckx | 2,500 m | 34.2 km/h | |
| Stage 14 | 13 Jul | Valloire → Aix-les-Bains | 207 km | Cyrille Guimard | 2,918 m | 28.6 km/h | |
| Stage 15 | 14 Jul | Aix-les-Bains → Mont Revard | 192 km | Cyrille Guimard | 4,000 m | 34.0 km/h | |
| Stage 16 | 16 Jul | Aix-les-Bains → Pontarlier | 201 km | Willy Teirlinck | 4,000 m | 31.2 km/h | |
| Stage 17 | 17 Jul | Pontarlier → Ballon d'Alsace | 51 km | Bernard Thevenet | 1,589 m | 33.3 km/h | |
| Stage 18 | 17 Jul | Vesoul → Auxerre | 151 km | Marinus ''Rini'' Wagtmans | 2,500 m | 31.4 km/h | |
| Stage 19 | 18 Jul | Auxerre → Versailles | 28 km | Joseph Bruyere | 1,423 m | 24.1 km/h | |
| Stage 20 | 19 Jul | Versailles → Paris | 199 km | Willy Teirlinck | 3,916 m | 32.3 km/h |