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===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
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.
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