ESPN Cycling

MORZINE, France -- First-year professional Yury Trofimov of Russia on Friday surprised the race favorites with a mountain stage win in the Dauphine Libere.

Part of an eight-man, day-long early breakaway, the Bouygues Telecom rider shed his rivals one by one on the day's main climb, the 7.15-mile Joux-Plane.

Trofimov then went solo on the fast descent to the finish in Morzine for his third win of 2008. Second was Cadel Evans of Australia, 18 seconds back, with race leader Alejandro Valverde in third.

"I was surprised but pleased at winning today," said Trofimov, a former winner of the Mountain Bike World Championships at the under-23 level. "My mountain biking background definitely helped on the descent. It was very fast and technical.

"I didn't think this morning I was going to be able to get away on the climb, but fortunately I felt a lot better as the day went on."

Asked if he will now race in the Tour de France after such a strong mountain ride, the 24-year-old Trofimov said he was unsure.

"I'm very happy with what I've achieved so far, I'm not really looking beyond the end of this race right now."

Overall, Valverde continues to lead, with Evans moving into second place, 37 seconds behind. Third is American Levi Leipheimer, behind by 1 minute, 29 seconds.

Strong changes of pace on the Joux-Plane by Evans, Valverde and young Dutch challenger Robert Gesink squeezed Leipheimer out of the day's running. The American finished 1 minute, 24 seconds down, in ninth place.

"Today's stage was harder than yesterday's and I feel a lot more confident now about my chances," Valverde said. "But Saturday's [mountain] stage is the toughest of the whole race. It'll decide everything."

The Dauphine Libere finishes on Sunday in Grenoble.