Twice Tour de France champion Alberto Contador seized control of the Paris-Nice cycle race when he snatched a solo win in the fourth stage to lead a Spanish 1-2-3.
The Astana rider attacked the pack in the final ascent to Mende and beat compatriots Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez by 10 seconds.
The Spaniard has crashed twice on the tour.
Contador, who cracked in the penultimate stage of the race last year, snatched the yellow jersey from German Jens Voigt and now leads Valverde by 24 seconds, with Czech Roman Kreuziger in third place 25 seconds off the pace.
Greg Henderson, who won the first stage is now 77th overall, more than 8 minutes behind Contador, while the other New Zealander Hayden Roulston pulled out of the tour with a virus.
