Alexis Vuillermoz won the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturday to become the first French rider to triumph this year. The 27-year-old former mountain biker escaped on the final 2km climb to the finish at Mur de Bretagne following a 181.5km stage from Rennes. Ireland's Dan Martin timed his counter-attack a shade too late and came home second at 5sec with Spaniard Alejandro Valverde winning the sprint finish for third at 10sec.
Briton Chris Froome finished eighth, safely in the lead peloton to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey by 11sec from Peter Sagan, who did at least take the green points jersey. American Tejay Van Garderen is third overall at 13sec.