MARSEILLE, France (AP) – A brief look at the 10th stage Wednesday:

Stage: The race reached its midway point as it moved out of the Alps mountains and back onto flat roads with a 142.6-mile run from Tallard to the seaport of Marseille.

Winner: Cedric Vasseur became the first French rider to win at this year’s Tour – his first stage win since 1997. Vasseur beat Sandy Casar of France by inches across the finish line, while Swiss rider Michael Albasini was third. All three finished in 5 hours, 20 minutes, 24 seconds.

Yellow Jersey: Michael Rasmussen of Denmark kept the overall lead by finishing safely in 30th place. He is 2:35 ahead of second-place Alejandro Valverde and 2:39 in front of Iban Mayo in third.

Quote of the Day: “I think the possibility to dope is getting smaller and smaller. It’s a good sign that the system is starting to work.” – Linus Gerdemann reacts to T-Mobile teammate Patrik Sinkewitz’s positive doping test.

Next stage: The 11th stage Thursday again favors sprinters such as Tom Boonen of Belgium, who is in the green jersey. Boonen will look to consolidate his lead on a 113.4-mile ride from Marseille to Montpellier.

AP-ES-07-18-07 1438EDT