Editing Tour de France (section)

===1969–1987===
In the early 1970s, the race was dominated by [[Eddy Merckx]], who won the [[General classification in the Tour de France|General Classification]] five times, the [[Mountains classification in the Tour de France|Mountains Classification]] twice, the [[Points classification in the Tour de France|Points Classification]] three times and [[Tour de France records and statistics#Stage wins per rider|held the record for the most stage victories (34)]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Eddy Merckx reflects on his career and life on his 70th birthday|date=17 June 2015|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eddy-merckx-reflects-on-his-career-and-life-on-his-70th-birthday/|work=Cycling News|access-date=28 July 2015}}</ref> until overtaken by [[Mark Cavendish]] in 2024. Merckx's dominating style earned him the nickname "The Cannibal". In [[1969 Tour de France|1969]], he already had a commanding lead when he launched a long-distance solo attack in the mountains which none of the other elite riders could answer, resulting in an eventual winning margin of nearly eighteen minutes. In [[1973 Tour de France|1973]] he did not win because he did not enter the Tour; instead, his great rival [[Luis Ocaña]] won. Merckx's winning streak came to an end when he finished 2nd to [[Bernard Thévenet]] in [[1975 Tour de France|1975]].

During this era, race director Felix Lévitan began to recruit additional sponsors, sometimes accepting prizes in kind if he could not get cash. In [[1975 Tour de France|1975]], the polka-dot jersey was introduced for the winner of the [[Mountains classification in the Tour de France|Mountains Classification]].<ref name="Gard Obit">{{cite news|last1=Fotheringham|first1=William|title=Obituary: Félix Lévitan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/apr/03/guardianobituaries.cycling|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 July 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Augendre|1996|p=69}} This same year Levitan also introduced the finish of the Tour at the Avenue des [[Champs-Élysées]]. Since then, this stage has been largely ceremonial and is generally only contested as a prestigious sprinters' stage. (See 'Notable Stages' below for examples of non-ceremonial finishes to this stage.) Occasionally, a rider will be given the honor of leading the rest of the [[peloton]] onto the circuit finish in their final Tour, as was the case for [[Jens Voigt]] and [[Sylvain Chavanel]], among others.
[[File:Bernard Hinault 1978.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Bernard Hinault]] at the [[1978 Tour de France]]]]
From the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, the Tour was dominated by Frenchman [[Bernard Hinault]], who would become the third rider to win five times. Hinault was defeated by [[Joop Zoetemelk]] in [[1980 Tour de France|1980]] when he withdrew, and only once in his Tour de France career was he soundly defeated, and this was by [[Laurent Fignon]] in [[1984 Tour de France|1984]]. In [[1986 Tour de France|1986]], Hinault, who had won [[1985 Tour de France|the year before]] with American rider [[Greg LeMond]] [[Domestique|supporting]] him, publicly pledged to ride in support of LeMond. Several attacks during the race cast doubt on the sincerity of his promise, leading to a rift between the two riders and the entire [[La Vie Claire]] team, before LeMond prevailed. It was the first ever victory for a rider from outside of Europe. The 1986 Tour is widely considered to be one of the most memorable in the history of the sport due to the battle between LeMond and Hinault.

The [[1987 Tour de France|1987 edition]] was more uncertain than past editions, as previous winners Hinault and Zoetemelk had retired, LeMond was absent, and Fignon was suffering from a lingering injury. As such, the race was highly competitive, and the lead changed hands eight times before [[Stephen Roche]] won. When Roche won the [[1987 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|World Championship Road Race]] later in the season, he became only the second rider (after Merckx) to win [[Triple Crown of Cycling|cycling's Triple Crown]], which meant winning the [[Giro d'Italia]], the Tour and the [[UCI Road World Championships|Road World Cycling Championship]] in one calendar year.

Lévitan helped drive an internationalization of the Tour de France, and cycling in general.<ref name="Gard Obit" /> Roche was the first winner from Ireland; however, in the years leading up to his victory, cyclists from numerous other countries began joining the ranks of the peloton. In [[1982 Tour de France|1982]], [[Sean Kelly (cyclist)|Sean Kelly]] of Ireland (points) and [[Phil Anderson (cyclist)|Phil Anderson]] of Australia (young rider) became the first winners of any Tour classifications from outside cycling's [[Continental Europe]] heartlands, while Lévitan was influential in facilitating the participation in the [[1983 Tour de France|1983 Tour]] by amateur riders from the [[Eastern Bloc]] and Colombia.<ref name="Gard Obit" /> In 1984, for the first time, the Société du Tour de France organized the [[Tour de France Féminin]], a version for women.{{refn|group="n"|A race for female cyclists similar to the men's Tour de France had been organized in 1955, but it was not official.}} It was run in the same weeks as the men's version, and it was won by [[Marianne Martin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/feminines/tdf_feminin.php |title=Tour de France féminin |language=fr |publisher=Memoire du Cyclisme |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=27 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510052454/https://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/feminines/tdf_feminin.php |archive-date=10 May 2012}}</ref>

While the global awareness and popularity of the Tour grew during this time, its finances became stretched.<ref name="CN obit">{{cite web|title=Remembering Félix Lévitan|date=21 February 2007|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/remembering-felix-levitan/|work=Cycling News}}</ref> Goddet and Lévitan continued to clash over the running of the race.<ref name="CN obit" /> Lévitan launched the Tour of America as a precursor to his plans to take the Tour de France to the US.<ref name="CN obit" /> The Tour of America lost much money, and it appeared to have been cross-financed by the Tour de France.{{sfn|Goddet|1991|p=}} In the years before 1987, Lévitan's position had always been protected by [[Émilien Amaury]], the then owner of [[Amaury Sport Organisation|ASO]], but Émilien Amaury would soon retire and leave son [[Philippe Amaury]] responsible. When Lévitan arrived at his office on 17 March 1987, he found that his doors were locked and he was fired. The organisation of the 1987 Tour de France was taken over by Jean-François Naquet-Radiguet.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2008|pp=171–178}} He was not successful in acquiring more funds, and was fired within one year.<ref name="Cyclismas">{{cite web | title=The Rise of the Amaurys (Part 2 in a series) | work=Cyclismas | url=http://www.cyclismas.com/biscuits/philippe-amaury/ | access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref>