PARIS, July 8 -- French rider Lilian Calmejane withstood cramps five kilometers from the finish to claim his first stage win in Saturday's eighth stage of the 2017 Tour de France, while British Christopher Froome kept his yellow jersey after suffering his own scare in the race.
The initial phase saw several attempts to break away end in a failure, before a nine-member group were formed with 24km remaining.
However, it was the Dutchman Robert Gesink himself that could catch up with Calmejane into the final 12 kilometers.
The Frenchman once built a 30-second lead and first crossed the line for a first-category climb, but found that the win might fade away from him due to his cramps.
The resilient Direct Energie rider managed to win the race with a 37-second adavantage, with another French rider Guillaume Martin on third.
For Calmejane, taking away the stage win in his first Tour meant a dream that has come true.
"I still cannot believe it, because it's something that I have dreamed of since the start," he said, adding that he was close to a "catastrophe", but it was simply his day.
Team Sky led the peloton to finish the race, and their top racer Froome could maintain his 12-second lead against teammate Geraint Thomas for the yellow jersey, with Italian rider Fabio Aru adrift 14 seconds from Froome on third.
But Froome could not expect a relaxing day just as he did in two previous stages, as he and Thomas made a flaw swerve off the road.
Froome could get into the race quickly, but Thomas chose hay as his cushion rather than trees.
Marcel Kittel, who claimed back-to-back titles in two flat stages on Thursday and Friday, still wore the sprinter's green jersey and extended his advantage over Arnaud Demare to 30 points.
The best young rider went to Britain's Simon Yates, and Team Sky met little challenge in maintaining their top position on overall team standings.
Starting from Nantua, the 181.5km ninth stage on Sunday is expected to bring more challenges for racers with three HC climbs, and will finish in Chambery before the rest day next Monday.