Complex sentence: The race was won by Eddy Merckx, his third consecutive victory, although it had looked unlikely after the 11th stage, when Merckx was more than eight minutes behind Luis Ocaña in the general classification.
Split into simpler sentences: The race was won by Eddy Merckx, his third consecutive victory. It was no easy win; after the 11th stage, Merckx was more than eight minutes behind Luis Ocaña in the general classification.