The 28th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from April 26 to May 13, 1973. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of 3,061 km, and was won by Eddy Merckx of the Molteni cycling team. As Merckx had already won several editions of the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia with his win in the Vuelta, he became the third cyclist after Jacques Anquetil and Felice Gimondi to win all three grand tours in his career. Merckx went on to win the 1973 Giro d’Italia and became the first cyclist to win the Vuelta-Giro double. Merckx also won the points classification and José Luis Abilleira won the mountains classification. With Merckx finishing first, Ocaña second and Thévenet third the podium of the 1973 Vuelta contained one previous winner and two future winners of the Tour de France making it one of the best podiums in the history of the race, according to the official race website. Merckx won six stages in this edition and Gerben Karstens won four.
Teams
- KAS
- Bic
- La Casera
- Molteni
|
- Peugeot-B.P.
- Coelima-Benfica
|
|
Route and stages
Stage characteristics and results
| Stage |
Date |
Course |
Distance |
Type |
Winner |
| P |
26 April |
Calp to Calp |
5 km (3 mi) |
![]() |
Individual time trial |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 1 |
27 April |
Calp to Murcia |
187 km (116 mi) |
|
|
![]() Pieter Nassen (BEL) |
| 2 |
28 April |
Murcia to Albacete |
156 km (97 mi) |
|
|
![]() Gerben Karstens (NED) |
| 3 |
29 April |
Albacete to Alcázar de San Juan |
146 km (91 mi) |
|
|
![]() Pieter Nassen (BEL) |
| 4 |
30 April |
Alcázar de San Juan to Cuenca |
169 km (105 mi) |
|
|
![]() Jos Deschoenmaecker (BEL) |
| 5 |
1 May |
Cuenca to Teruel |
191 km (119 mi) |
|
|
![]() Gerben Karstens (NED) |
| 6a |
2 May |
Teruel to La Pobla de Farnals |
150 km (93 mi) |
|
|
![]() Roger Swerts (BEL) |
| 6b |
La Pobla de Farnals |
5 km (3 mi) |
![]() |
Team time trial |
Molteni |
| 7 |
3 May |
La Pobla de Farnals to Castellón de la Plana |
165 km (103 mi) |
|
|
![]() Gerben Karstens (NED) |
| 8 |
4 May |
Castellón de la Plana to Calafell |
245 km (152 mi) |
|
|
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 9a |
5 May |
Calafell to Barcelona |
80 km (50 mi) |
|
|
![]() Juan Manuel Santisteban (ESP) |
| 9b |
Barcelona to Barcelona |
37.9 km (24 mi) |
![]() |
Individual time trial |
![]() Jacques Esclassan (FRA) |
| 10 |
6 May |
Barcelona to Empuriabrava |
171 km (106 mi) |
|
|
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 11 |
7 May |
Empuriabrava to Manresa |
225 km (140 mi) |
|
|
![]() Bernard Thévenet (FRA) |
| 12 |
8 May |
Manresa to Zaragoza |
259 km (161 mi) |
|
|
![]() Gerben Karstens (NED) |
| 13 |
9 May |
Mallén to Irache [es] |
175 km (109 mi) |
|
|
![]() Domingo Perurena (ESP) |
| 14 |
10 May |
Irache [es] to Bilbao |
182 km (113 mi) |
|
|
![]() Juan Zurano (ESP) |
| 15a |
11 May |
Bilbao to Torrelavega |
154 km (96 mi) |
|
|
![]() Eddy Peelman (BEL) |
| 15b |
Torrelavega to Torrelavega |
17.4 km (11 mi) |
![]() |
Individual time trial |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 16 |
12 May |
Torrelavega to Miranda de Ebro |
203 km (126 mi) |
|
|
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 17a |
13 May |
Miranda de Ebro to Tolosa, Gipuzkoa |
127 km (79 mi) |
|
|
![]() Eddy Peelman (BEL) |
| 17b |
Hernani to San Sebastián |
10.5 km (7 mi) |
![]() |
Individual time trial |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
|
Total |
3,016.8 km (1,875 mi) |
Classification leadership
Classification leadership by stage
| Stage |
Winner |
General classification
![Jersey gold.svg]() |
Points classification
![Jersey light blue.svg]() |
Mountains classification
![Jersey green.svg]() |
Combination classification
![Jersey red.svg]() |
Team classification |
| P |
Eddy Merckx |
Eddy Merckx |
not awarded |
not awarded |
not awarded |
not awarded |
| 1 |
Pieter Nassen |
Pieter Nassen |
Domingo Perurena |
Rokado |
| 2 |
Gerben Karstens |
Gerben Karstens |
Gerben Karstens |
Javier Elorriaga & Jean-Jacques Fussien |
| 3 |
Pieter Nassen |
Pieter Nassen |
José Luis Abilleira |
Jean-Jacques Fussien |
| 4 |
Jos Deschoenmaecker |
José Pesarrodona |
KAS |
| 5 |
Gerben Karstens |
Gerben Karstens |
| 6a |
Roger Swerts |
José Luis Galdamez |
Molteni |
| 6b |
Molteni |
| 7 |
Gerben Karstens |
Eddy Merckx |
| 8 |
Eddy Merckx |
| 9a |
Juan Manuel Santisteban |
| 9b |
Jacques Esclassan |
| 10 |
Eddy Merckx |
| 11 |
Bernard Thévenet |
Eddy Merckx |
La Casera |
| 12 |
Gerben Karstens |
| 13 |
Domingo Perurena |
| 14 |
Juan Zurano |
| 15a |
Eddy Peelman |
Eddy Merckx |
| 15b |
Eddy Merckx |
| 16 |
Eddy Merckx |
| 17a |
Eddy Peelman |
| 17b |
Eddy Merckx |
| Final |
Eddy Merckx |
Eddy Merckx |
José Luis Abilleira |
Eddy Merckx |
La Casera |
Final standings
| Legend |
![A gold jersey]() |
Denotes the winner of the General classification |
![A green jersey]() |
Denotes the winner of the Mountains classification |
![A light blue jersey]() |
Denotes the winner of the Points classification |
![A red jersey]() |
Denotes the winner of the Combination classification |
General Classification
Final general classification (1–10)
| Rank |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 1 |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) ![A gold jersey]() ![A light blue jersey]() ![A red jersey]() |
Molteni |
84h 40′ 50″ |
| 2 |
![]() Luis Ocaña (ESP) |
Bic |
+ 3′ 46″ |
| 3 |
![]() Bernard Thévenet (FRA) |
Peugeot-B.P. |
+ 4′ 16″ |
| 4 |
![]() José Pesarrodona (ESP) |
KAS |
+ 5′ 54″ |
| 5 |
![]() Pedro Torres (ESP) |
La Casera |
+ 7′ 29″ |
| 6 |
![]() Joaquim Agostinho (POR) |
Bic |
+ 8′ 15″ |
| 7 |
![]() Agustín Tamames (ESP) |
La Casera |
+ 9′ 15″ |
| 8 |
![]() Luis Balague (ESP) |
La Casera |
+ 12′ 26″ |
| 9 |
![]() Roger Swerts (BEL) |
Molteni |
+ 13′ 27″ |
| 10 |
![]() Jesús Manzaneque (ESP) |
La Casera |
+ 15′ 01″ |
Points classification
Final points classification (1–3)
|
Rider |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) ![A light blue jersey]() ![A gold jersey]() ![A red jersey]() |
Molteni |
215.5 |
| 2 |
![]() Roger Swerts (BEL) |
Molteni |
162.5 |
| 3 |
![]() Pieter Nassen (BEL) |
Rokado |
154.5 |
Mountains classification
Final mountains classification (1–4)
|
Rider |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
![]() José Luis Abilleira (ESP) ![Green jersey]() |
La Casera |
97 |
| 2 |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) ![A gold jersey]() ![A light blue jersey]() ![A red jersey]() |
Molteni |
83 |
| 3 |
![]() Luis Balague (ESP) |
La Casera |
60 |
| 4 |
![]() Pedro Torres (ESP) |
La Casera |
50 |
Combination classification
Final combination classification (1–3)
|
Rider |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) ![A red jersey]() ![A gold jersey]() ![A light blue jersey]() |
Molteni |
18 |
| 2 |
![]() José Luis Abilleira (ESP) ![Green jersey]() |
La Casera |
11 |
| 3 |
![]() José Luis Galdamez (ESP) |
Coelima-Benfica |
6 |
Team classification
Final team classification (1–8)
|
Team |
Time |
| 1 |
La Casera |
254h 01′ 59″ |
| 2 |
Bic |
+ 4′ 44″ |
| 3 |
Molteni |
+ 6′ 24″ |
| 4 |
KAS |
+ 11′ 28″ |
| 5 |
Monte Verde |
+ 29′ 01″ |
| 6 |
Coelima-Benfica |
+ 32′ 03″ |
| 7 |
Peugeot-B.P. |
+ 32′ 51″ |
| 8 |
Rokado |
+ 51′ 22″ |
Intermediate sprints classification
Final intermediate sprints classification (1–10)
|
Rider |
Team |
Points |
| 1 |
![]() Eddy Merckx (BEL) ![A gold jersey]() ![A light blue jersey]() ![A red jersey]() |
Molteni |
26 |
| 2 |
![]() Javier Elorriaga (ESP) |
KAS |
24 |
| 3 |
![]() José Luis Galdamez (ESP) |
Coelima-Benfica |
15 |
| 4 |
![]() Fernando Mendes (POR) |
Coelima-Benfica |
10 |
| 5 |
![]() Eddy Peelman (BEL) |
Rokado |
9 |
| 6 |
![]() José Luis Abilleira (ESP) ![Green jersey]() |
La Casera |
6 |
| 7 |
![]() Domingo Perurena (ESP) |
KAS |
| 8 |
![]() Jan Van de Wiele (BEL) |
Rokado |
| 9 |
![]() Joseph Bruyère (BEL) |
Molteni |
5 |
| 10 |
![]() Roger Swerts (BEL) |
Molteni |
Eddy Merckx (BEL)
Gerben Karstens (NED)
Juan Manuel Santisteban (ESP)
Jacques Esclassan (FRA)
Joaquim Agostinho (POR)
