In his absence, Luis Ocaña dominated the race by winning four mountain stages and two time trials.

The Italian teams did not join the 1973 Tour de France, because no top French cyclist rode the 1973 Giro d'Italia.

[2] The teams entering the race were:[2] The winner of the previous four editions, Eddy Merckx had changed sponsors to the Italian Molteni.

Ocaña, who was in great shape, was now the main favourite, with Fuente, Poulidor and Thévenet as his biggest threats.

[5] Among the Italian riders absent were world champion Marino Basso and former Tour winner Felice Gimondi.

[6] The race started on 30 June, and had two rest days, in Divonne-les-Bains and Bolquères Pyrenees 2000 [fr].

[7] The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,556 m (8,386 ft) at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 8.

Ocaña and Herman Van Springel fell down when a dog crossed the road, but both suffered no serious damage.

They stayed away until the end of the stage, where Catieau won the sprint, and Van Springel became the new race leader.

When Fuente had a flat tire, Ocaña did not wait for him, and left him behind, beating him by one minute at the finish line.

[5] In the sixteenth stage, the cyclists were slower than expected, and finished one hour after the latest time schedule.

[17] All three received a fine of 1000 Swiss Francs, one-month suspension and ten minutes penalty time in the general classification.

[24] At the conclusion of the Tour, Luis Ocaña won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists.