HUY, Belgium - British rider Chris Froome took the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey after finishing second behind Spanish veteran Joacquim Rodriguez in Monday's crash-marred third stage, as a second straight day of chaos caused around 20 riders to fall and several to quit.
The 2013 Tour winner Froome almost caught Rodriguez near the top of the day's final climb, but the Spaniard held on for his second career Tour stage win five years after his first.
"I didn't expect to be in yellow this early on. Couldn't be a better feeling," said Froome, whose title defense ended when he crashed early in last year's race. "I may look calm on the outside but I assure you I'm not."
He now leads German rider Tony Martin - who is not a threat for overall victory - by one second and is 13 seconds ahead of American rider Tejay Van Garderen, who is shaping up as a dangerous outsider.
More importantly, Froome's touted main rivals are lagging.
Froome is now 36 seconds clear of two-time champion Alberto Contador of Spain, 1:38 ahead of defending champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy and 1:56 ahead of Nairo Quintana of Colombia, the Tour runner-up two years ago.