NANTES, France—Samuel Dumoulin of France won the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday while countryman Romain Feillu finished third to claim the yellow jersey.

Feillu was just beaten to the line and took the overall lead from Alejandro Valverde, the Spaniard who led since winning Saturday’s first stage.

William Frischkorn of the United States finished second, a fraction ahead of Feillu. Dumoulin, who had to pull out of the 2004 Tour after crashing into a dog, led a small group of sprinters to the line.

“I have always dreamed of winning a stage,” Dumoulin said. “I have felt good since the start of the year.”

As the race entered the last mile, Dumoulin briefly pulled ahead but Feillu passed him. Dumoulin then accelerated and moved in front again about 300 yards from the line.

Feillu, who rides for Agritubel, is followed in the overall standings by Italy’s Paolo Longo Borghini, who finished the stage in fourth place and is 35 seconds behind.

Frischkorn, of the Garmin Chipotle team, is 1 minute, 42 seconds back in third and Valverde is 1:45 behind in fourth. Valverde, however, 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. 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.