HUY, Belgium — Spanish veteran Joaquim Rodriguez won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France on Monday, with British rider Chris Froome finishing second to take the race leader's yellow jersey.

The crash happened with a little under 60 kilometers (37 miles) remaining, forcing the stage to be neutralized and then stopped altogether shortly after — for nearly 20 minutes — while organizers allowed those who fell to catch up.

With the race moving from neighboring Netherlands into Belgium, stage three was 159.5 kilometers (99 miles) from Anvers to Huy.

It featured four short and sharp climbs but the crash took place before any of these when Frenchman William Bonnet went down and several riders tumbled around him.

All of the main Tour contenders avoided the crash, unlike Fabian Cancellera, who started the day in the yellow jersey and ended it in agony after being one of some 20 riders who fell.

After taking chunks of time out of his Tour rivals Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana on Sunday's rain-soaked and wind-battered second stage, Froome did it again as he accelerated in the last climb. He almost caught up with Rodriguez, but the Spanish rider held on with Froome closing in on him.

Froome, the 2013 Tour champion, leads German rider Tony Martin by just 1 second and is 13 seconds ahead of American rider Tejay Van Garderen.

The day's final two climbs — 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) — up Cote de Cherave and the famed Mur de Huy featured on this year's Fleche Wallonne (Walloon Arrow) classic. That prompted Froome to ride the Wallonne this year, where he crashed toward the end.

He had better luck this time, gaining 11 seconds on Nibali and Quintana and 18 seconds on two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador of Spain.