German rider Marcel Kittel claimed the 11th stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Wednesday, taking his tally to five stage wins since the start of the race.

Australia's Michael Matthews finished the stage in fourth and is second overall in the race for the green jersey.

Matthews appeared slightly cluttered for room in the final sprint to the line.

Ahead of two hard days in the Pyrenees mountains, Chris Froome finished in the main pack to retain the race leader's yellow jersey by 18 seconds over Fabio Aru.

A sprint specialist, Kittel has now won 14 Tour de France stages in five appearances at cycling's showcase event, a record for a German rider.

The stage took the peloton on a flat, 203.5-kilometre ride from Eymet to Pau in south-western France.

More to come

AP