Spain's Alejandro Valverde finished in the trailing pack and retained the yellow jersey after the mostly flat 164.5-kilometre route from Auray to Saint-Brieuc.

Hushovd, a Norwegian sprint specialist with the Credit Agricole team, won his sixth Tour stage by bolting away from the pack with about 50 metres to go. He finished the stage in three hours, 45 minutes, 13 seconds.

Team Columbia riders Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg and Gerald Ciolek of Germany were second and third respectively in the windy ride through the Brittany countryside.

Caisse d'Epargne team leader Valverde retains a one-second lead over second-place Kirchen and third-place Spanish sprint star Oscar Freire.

The Canadian Press, 2008