Magnus Cort Nielsen of Denmark sprinted away from two other challengers to win Stage 15 of the Tour de France on Sunday, while Geraint Thomas had no trouble holding the overall lead for a fourth consecutive day

The Astana rider claimed his first career win at the Tour after staying ahead of Ion Izagirre and Bauke Mollema in a sprint over the final 200 meters. Cort Nielsen finished the hilly 181.5-kilometer (112.7-mile) leg from Millau that ended in a long descent to Carcassonne in 4 hours, 25 minutes.

The three riders were the last of a breakaway group of 29 cyclists.

Thomas in the yellow jersey, second-placed Chris Froome, and the rest of the overall contenders arrived at Carcassonne and its medieval city walls 13 minutes after the stage winner.

Thomas kept his advantage of 1 minute, 39 seconds over teammate and defending champion Froome before the race's second rest day on Monday.

That pause precedes the four days in the Pyrenees, followed by the individual time trial on the penultimate day of the race.

The racing returns on Tuesday with Stage 16, a 218-kilometer mountain trek from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon.