Alexis Vuillermoz claimed the first French victory of the 2015 Tour de France by bursting to win stage eight atop the Mur de Bretagne.
The 181.5-kilometres eighth stage from Rennes finished at the summit of a climb which brutally ramps up for a kilometre before flattening out.
Race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) made a burst in an attempt to show his dominance to his rivals for overall glory.
He felt he had done enough as Vuillermoz timed his surge expertly to triumph.
Birmingham-born Irishman Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) was frustrated with himself in finishing second, five seconds back after a late attack, while Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was third.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) lost some seconds to Froome as his title defence slipped further, giving the 2013 winner further momentum ahead of Sunday's team time-trial.
Froome remained 11 seconds clear of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo), who was fourth on the stage.
Source: PA-WIRE
