merckx came back the following year to liking of his sponsor. merckx took the lead after stage five and never relinquished it; he dominated the lengthy stage nine time trial. merckx went on to win the tour de france and in doing so became the third rider to win two grand tours in a single calendar year. in 1971, reigning champion merckx decided to ride the critérium du dauphiné libéré instead. felice gimondi lost substantial time early on in the race to put him out of contention, while fellow italian and teammate gianni motta tested positive for banned substances and was dismissed from the giro. swedish cyclist gösta pettersson gained the lead after the race's eighteenth stage and held it all the way to the finish. pettersson became the first swedish cyclist to win a grand tour.