Paris-Nice 2010 final: On-form Contador wins the race

Alberto Contador has won Paris-Nice in a storming finale that bodes well for his chances in the Tour de France.

The reigning Tour champion powered up the final climb on the Col d'Eze and fought off late attacks from Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel) and Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne) to claim a top 10 finish, ensuring he retained an 11-second advantage over Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) in the general classification.

The stage victory was taken by Cofidis's Amaël Moinard after he outsprinted breakaway partner Thomas Voeckler (Bbox-Bouygues) on the Promenade des Anglais.

An early crash split the peloton in two and four riders, including Tony Martin of HTC-Columbia, were forced to call it quits.

Voeckler and Moinard broke free with around 68km of the race remaining, extending their lead to two and a half minutes.

Katusha led the chase pack but it was Contador who surged clear with Valverde and Joaquim Rodríguez (Katyusha) up the Col d'Eze.

Voeckler and Moinard were allowed to maintain a narrow advantage and it was the Cofidis rider who surged out of his rival's slipstream to take the victory at the line.

As well as winning the final stage, Moinard also claimed the overall King of the Mountains jersey while Liquigas's Peter Sagan took the points title.

Stage seven result:

1 - Amaël Moinard - (FRA) - Cofidis - (2:52:09)
2 - Thomas Voeckler - (FRA) - Bbox-Bouygues - (same time)
3 - Alejandro Valverde - (ESP) - Caisse d'Epargne - (+3)
4 - Nicolas Roche - (IRL) - AG2R - (+3)
5 - Rein Taaramäe - (EST) - Cofidis - (+3)
6 - Joaquim Rodríguez - (ESP) - Katyusha - (+3)
7 - Jens Voigt - (GER) - Saxo Bank - (+3)
8 - Chris Horner - (USA) - RadioShack - (+3)
9 - Janez Brajkovic - (SLO) - RadioShack - (+3)
10 - Alberto Contador - (ESP) - Astana - (+3)

Final standings:

1 - Alberto Contador - (ESP) - Astana - ( 28:35:35)
2 - Alejandro Valverde - (ESP) - Caisse d'Epargne - (+11)
3 - Luis León Sánchez - (ESP) - Caisse d'Epargne - (+25)
4 - Roman Kreuziger - (CZE) - Liquigas - (+26)
5 - Samuel Sánchez - (ESP) - Euskaltel - (+30)
6 - Jens Voigt - (GER) - Saxo Bank - (+35)
7 - Joaquim Rodríguez - (ESP) - Katyusha - (+37)
8 - Rein Taaramäe - (EST) - Cofidis - (+1:07)
9 - Jean-Christophe Peraud - (FRA) - Omega Pharma-Lotto - (+1:16)
10 - Jérôme Coppel - (FRA) - Saur-Sojasun - (+1:17)