Tour de France: Chris Froome extends lead as Peter Sagan wins stage

Defending champion Chris Froome of Britain extended his overall lead and Peter Sagan won the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday.

Sagan of Slovakia got in a four-man breakaway that included Froome with about seven miles remaining in the 101-mile leg from Carcassonne to Montpellier, France, near the Mediterranean coast. It was Sagan's second victory in this Tour and his sixth career win.

Froome and Sky teammate Geraint Thomas joined the Tinkoff duo of Sagan and Maciej Bodnar of Poland in the lead.

Sagan won the sprint finish ahead of Froome, with Bodnar crossing third.

"It was crazy," Sagan said. "Froome and Geraint came with us and I said, 'we are too strong, they are never going to catch us.' So we pulled hard and it happened.

"There was a crazy wind and I was not planning to go in the break with the yellow jersey and Geraint and Bodnar. You cannot plan that -- it just happens."

Froome gained a six-second bonus for his second-place finish as he retained the race leader's yellow jersey.

The 31-year-old Froome, seeking his third Tour title in four years, moved 28 seconds ahead of fellow British rider Adam Yates.

"Obviously I took a few seconds on the downhill and then again on the finish here," Froome said. "Any opportunity I can see I'm going to take it. This is bike racing at its best. I feel like I'm enjoying it, I'm not feeling I'm being forced into this because of pressure."

Thursday's mountain-top finish at Mont Ventoux will be the 12th stage, a 114-mile leg from Montpellier. The race's first time trial comes Friday with a hilly 23.3-mile leg from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont-D'Arc.

Daniel Martin of Ireland is third overall, 31 seconds behind, and two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana of Colombia is fourth, 35 seconds back.