Win for Dumoulin as Feillu takes Tour lead

NANTES, France -- French rider Samuel Dumoulin snatched victory in the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday when compatriot Romain Feillu emerged as the new overall race leader.

American William Frischkorn took second place, a fraction ahead of Feillu who did enough to claim the yellow jersey from Alejandro Valverde, who had led since winning Saturday's first stage.

Dumoulin clocked five hours, five minutes, 27 seconds for the the 208-kilometer trek from Saint-Malo to Nantes.

"It's phenomenal, I have waited for a win like that for so long," said Dumoulin. "I have always dreamed of winning a stage."

Dumoulin had pulled ahead briefly in Monday's stage as the race headed into the last 1.6 kilometers, but Feillu stuck to his wheel and overtook him.

Cofidis rider Dumoulin then displayed superior acceleration in the race to the line and went ahead again about 300 meters from the finish.

"I just lacked a bit of strength to get the stage win," Feillu said. "But I got the leader's jersey."

Feillu, who rides for Agritubel, leads from Italian rider Paolo Longo Borghini who finished the stage in fourth place, 14 seconds adrift, and is 35 seconds behind in the overall standings.

Frischkorn, a rider with the Garmin Chipotle team, is one minute, 42 seconds back in third spot, and Valverde is 1:45 behind in fourth.

However, the 28-year-old Valverde is expected to win that time back in Tuesday's time trial, the first real test for the Tour contenders.

Riders were briefly delayed by a protest 36 miles from the finish. It was not immediately clear what it was about, although one banner featured a slogan about French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The banner-waving protesters stopped the front four riders but moved aside after talking with Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

Spanish rider Angel Gomez needed roadside treatment after crashing with less than 20 miles left. He was taken away on a stretcher, and the extent of his injuries were not immediately known.

Matthieu Sprick of France and Nicki Sorensen of Denmark were part of the spill, but both riders got up and did not appear hurt.

Dumoulin had to pull out of the 2004 Tour after crashing into a dog. "It still bothers me," he said. "I am still nervous at the start of stages."