PARIS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian rider Caleb Ewan claimed his first Tour de France victory in Wednesday's stage 11, while Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe continued to have the yellow jersey on back ahead of gruelling mountain stages.
In the 167km flat stage from Albi, Ewan timed well to outsprint Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen just before the finish line in Toulouse, achieving a sweep of stage wins in Grand Tours following La Vuelta and Giro d'Italia.
"I knew if everything was coming together, I could be the fastest on the day," said Ewan.
"Luckily I had the legs to finish it off. This is a childhood dream that comes true. There's no other race that I've wanted to win as a kid," the 25-year-old Australian added.
Four riders broke away shortly after the gun. Their maximum lead over the peleton was recorded at 77km, before the gap was brought down to one minute with 50km remaining.
A crash took place 30km before the end, forcing Niki Terpstra to pull out of the race due to a suspected collarbone fracture. Potential title contenders Nairo Quintana and Richie Porte were also involved, but soon caught up with the peleton.
Alaphilippe and defending champion Geraint Thomas didn't take any risk in the transitional stage prior to tough ones in the mountain, arriving safely in the main pack.
Alaphilippe still has an advantage of 1 minute and 12 seconds over Thomas on overall standings. Thomas' Ineos teammate Egan Bernal, who wears the white jersey representing the best young rider, sits four seconds further behind.
"I'm just happy to have the yellow jersey for one more day and I expect anything," Alaphilippe pointed out.
Slovakia's Peter Sagan, the sprint green jersey owner, finished fourth in the stage after Italy's Elia Viviani.
Stage 12 on Thursday will start in Toulouse, with 209.5km ahead towards Bagneres-de-Bigorre.
