It was a big day for France at Monday's third stage of the 2008 Tour de France as Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin won the race and compatriot Roman Feillu took over the Tour leader's yellow jersey, dpa reported.
Dumoulin and Feillu were part of a four-man breakaway that led the main pack for nearly the entire 208-km course from the northern Breton port of Saint-Malo to the city of Nantes.
When the four men sprinted to the finish, the 27-year-old rider for the Cofidis team was the strongest, beating American William Frischkorn into second, with Feillu coming in third.
Dumoulin's time for the course was 5 hr 5 min 28 sec, an average speed of 40.86 kph.
The 24-year-old Feillu delighted the home crowd by taking over the race leader's yellow jersey, as he finished more than 2 minutes ahead of the previous leader, Spaniard Alejandro Valverde.
Italian Paolo Longo Borghini, who was also part of the breakaway group, now stands second, 35 seconds adrift, with Frischkorn in third, at 1:42.
Tuesday's third stage, a 29.5-km individual time trial, will likely produce a major change in the standings. The Tour de France ends July 27 in Paris.