Philip Deignan became the first Irish man to win a stage in a major professional cycling race since Stephen Roche won a stage in the 1992 Tour de France.

The County Donegal native got the better of Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic in a sprint to take the 18th stage of the race.

"I am really happy. It is the first time that an Irishman wins a stage at a major tour since Stephen Roche in 1992," said the Letterkenny man after his victory.

The stage win puts Deignan into the top 10 in overall classification and his win comes as a great fillip to the Irish cycling community, who are still grieving the loss of top amateur rider Paul Healion, who died last month in a car accident.