LORIENT, France — On World Cup final day, France's Sylvain Calzati gave the nation a reason to start celebrating by winning stage eight of the Tour de France — only to say he was cheering for Italy's soccer team.

Calzati's father is Italian, his mother French — a tricky mix given that the two nations' soccer squads were playing yesterday in Berlin, where Italy won on penalty kicks.

"I am going to disappoint quite a few people, but it is a good omen for Italy, I hope," Calzati said when asked whether his first Tour victory could presage a win for Les Bleus.

Calzati, who was born in the southeastern French city of Lyon, was the second French rider to win a Tour stage this year, after Jimmy Casper took stage one.

Calzati, of the AG2R squad, broke into tears after he crossed the finish line yesterday, winning with a solo ride ahead of the main pack. Serhiy Honchar of Ukraine was in that main pack and held on to the overall race lead. American Floyd Landis also was part of that pack and remained second overall, 1 minute behind Honchar.

"I feel like I'm living a dream," said Calzati, who moved up to 37th overall. "It's really magic."

He finished 2 minutes, 5 seconds ahead of Kjell Carlstrom of Finland, a rider for the Liquigas squad.

Today is the first rest day, with no racing, of the three-week Tour. The race resumes tomorrow with a flat stage from Bordeaux to Dax in southwest France, and then heads the next day into the climbs of the Pyrenees.