The fourth stage of the Paris-Nice ended with a gruelling time and a mountain-top finish. Alberto Contador put in a magnificent effort overhauling Jens Voigt by some 44 seconds to take the yellow jersey. His climb up to Mende was superb, putting clear tarmac between him and the strung out group of riders following.
Contador claims the yellow jersey, with Peter Sagan keeping green but losing white to Roman Kreuziger. Laurent Mangel retains the polkadot jersey.
| Position | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Alberto Contador | Astana | 17:07:23 |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:00:24 |
| 3 | Roman Kreuziger | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:00:25 |
| 4 | Luis-Leon Sanchez | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:00:28 |
| 5 | Samuel Sanchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:00:29 |
| 6 | Jens Voigt | Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:34 |
| 7 | Joaquim Rodriguez | Team Katusha | 0:00:36 |
| 8 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:00:54 |
| 9 | David Millar | Garmin - Transitions | 0:01:03 |
| 10 | Reine Taaramae | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:01:06 |
| 11 | Thomas Voeckler | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:01:08 |
| 12 | Xavier Tondo | Cervélo Test Team | 0:01:14 |
| 13 | Jean-Christophe Peraud | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:01:15 |
| 14 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | 0:01:16 |
| 15 | Nicolas Roche | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:22 |
| 16 | Levi Leipheimer | Team RadioShack | 0:01:23 |
| 17 | Sylvain Chavanel | Quick Step | 0:01:27 |
| 18 | Sandy Casar | Française des Jeux | 0:01:29 |
| 19 | Simon Gerrans | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:01:30 |
| 20 | Christophe Le Mevel | Française des Jeux | 0:01:32 |
| 21 | Janez Brajkovic | Team RadioShack | 0:01:33 |
| 22 | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:35 |
| 23 | Maxime Bouet | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:39 |
| 24 | Romain Sicard | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:01:45 |
| 25 | Volodymir Gustov | Cervélo Test Team | 0:01:50 |
| 26 | Rémi Pauriol | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:01:54 |
| 27 | Maxime Monfort | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:02:01 |
| 28 | Frank Schleck | Team Saxo Bank | 0:02:05 |
| 29 | David Lopez Garcia | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:02:13 |
| 30 | Sébastien Minard | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:02:22 |
| 31 | Johnny Hoogerland | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:02:27 |
| 32 | Cyril Gautier | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:02:30 |
| 33 | Thierry Hupond | Skil - Shimano | 0:02:36 |
| 34 | Kevin Seeldrayers | Quick Step | |
| 35 | Leonardo Duque | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:02:55 |
| 36 | Ivan Santaromita | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:02:56 |
| 37 | Francis De Greef | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:02:59 |
| 38 | Bram Tankink | Rabobank | 0:03:08 |
| 39 | Yury Trofimov | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:03:12 |
| 40 | Thomas Peterson | Garmin - Transitions | 0:03:17 |
| 41 | Julien El Fares | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:03:18 |
| 42 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:03:20 |
| 43 | Simon Geschke | Skil - Shimano | 0:03:22 |
| 44 | Dmitriy Fofonov | Astana | 0:03:28 |
| 45 | Alexandre Botcharov | Team Katusha | |
| 46 | Cyril Dessel | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:36 |
| 47 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:03:44 |
| 48 | Eduard Vorganov | Team Katusha | 0:03:52 |
| 49 | Mickael Cherel | Française des Jeux | |
| 50 | Xavier Florencio | Cervélo Test Team | 0:04:09 |
| 51 | Tony Martin | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:04:15 |
| 52 | Daniele Righi | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 0:04:28 |
| 53 | Andriy Grivko | Astana | 0:05:13 |
| 54 | Serguei Ivanov | Team Katusha | 0:05:20 |
| 55 | Alexandr Kolobnev | Team Katusha | |
| 56 | Julien Loubet | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:23 |
| 57 | Yannick Talabardon | Saur - Sojasun | 0:05:31 |
| 58 | Carlos Barredo | Quick Step | 0:05:40 |
| 59 | Alexandre Pichot | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:05:49 |
| 60 | Laurent Mangel | Saur - Sojasun | 0:05:50 |
| 61 | Daniel Martin | Garmin - Transitions | |
| 62 | Evgeni Petrov | Team Katusha | 0:05:53 |
| 63 | Joan Horrach | Team Katusha | 0:05:59 |
| 64 | José Ivan Gutierrez | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:06:07 |
| 65 | Tiago Machado | Team RadioShack | 0:06:11 |
| 66 | Gorka Verdugo | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:06:18 |
| 67 | Geoffroy Lequatre | Team RadioShack | 0:06:35 |
| 68 | Matthieu Ladagnous | Française des Jeux | 0:06:40 |
| 69 | Egoi Martinez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:06:51 |
| 70 | Rémy Di Gregorio | Française des Jeux | 0:07:18 |
| 71 | Kevin De Weert | Quick Step | 0:07:22 |
| 72 | Mickaël Delage | Omega Pharma - Lotto | |
| 73 | Jérôme Pineau | Quick Step | 0:07:29 |
| 74 | Tom Danielson | Garmin - Transitions | 0:07:48 |
| 75 | Juan Jose Cobo Acebo | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:08:08 |
| 76 | David Le Lay | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:08:28 |
| 77 | Gregory Henderson | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:08:30 |
| 78 | Laurent Didier | Team Saxo Bank | 0:08:57 |
| 79 | Mirco Lorenzetto | Lampre - Farnese Vini | |
| 80 | Chris Sorensen | Team Saxo Bank | 0:09:03 |
| 81 | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 0:09:05 |
| 82 | Jeremy Galland | Saur - Sojasun | 0:09:24 |
| 83 | William Bonnet | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:09:28 |
| 84 | Dario David Cioni | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:09:44 |
| 85 | Luis Pasamontes | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:09:49 |
| 86 | Jürgen Roelandts | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:10:19 |
| 87 | Koen De Kort | Skil - Shimano | 0:10:20 |
| 88 | Daniel Lloyd | Cervélo Test Team | 0:10:29 |
| 89 | Sébastien Turgot | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:10:31 |
| 90 | Dimitri Champion | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:10:38 |
| 91 | Frederik Willems | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:10:43 |
| 92 | Benat Intxausti | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:10:44 |
| 93 | Geraint Thomas | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:11:02 |
| 94 | Wesley Sulzberger | Française des Jeux | 0:11:07 |
| 95 | David Loosli | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 0:11:25 |
| 96 | Lars Boom | Rabobank | 0:11:41 |
| 97 | Koldo Fernandez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:11:58 |
| 98 | Ivan Velasco | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:12:08 |
| 99 | Marco Marcato | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:12:23 |
| 100 | Daniel Navarro | Astana | 0:12:38 |
| 101 | Cyril Lemoine | Saur - Sojasun | 0:12:48 |
| 102 | Brice Feillu | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:13:02 |
| 103 | Philippe Gilbert | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:13:09 |
| 104 | Stephen Cummings | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:13:20 |
| 105 | Jimmy Engoulvent | Saur - Sojasun | 0:13:34 |
| 106 | Christian Meier | Garmin - Transitions | 0:13:42 |
| 107 | Dominique Rollin | Cervélo Test Team | 0:13:47 |
| 108 | Pierre Rolland | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:13:54 |
| 109 | André Greipel | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:13:56 |
| 110 | Gustav Larsson | Team Saxo Bank | 0:13:57 |
| 111 | Sylvain Calzati | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:13:59 |
| 112 | Yaroslav Popovych | Team RadioShack | 0:14:08 |
| 113 | Adam Hansen | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:14:11 |
| 114 | Koos Moerenhout | Rabobank | 0:14:24 |
| 115 | Tadej Valjavec | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:14:27 |
| 116 | Albert Timmer | Skil - Shimano | 0:14:32 |
| 117 | Nicolas Maes | Quick Step | 0:14:37 |
| 118 | Borut Bozic | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
| 119 | Alberto Ongarato | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:14:53 |
| 120 | Romain Feillu | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:14:59 |
| 121 | Juan Jose Haedo | Team Saxo Bank | 0:15:00 |
| 122 | Alexandre Geniez | Skil - Shimano | 0:15:01 |
| 123 | Tom Leezer | Rabobank | 0:15:12 |
| 124 | Sébastien Rosseler | Team RadioShack | 0:15:39 |
| 125 | Gorazd Stangelj | Astana | 0:15:50 |
| 126 | Matthew Harley Goss | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:16:00 |
| 127 | Christian Vande Velde | Garmin - Transitions | 0:16:12 |
| 128 | Ted King | Cervélo Test Team | 0:16:17 |
| 129 | Serge Pauwels | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:16:25 |
| 130 | Samuel Dumoulin | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:16:38 |
| 131 | Christopher Horner | Team RadioShack | 0:16:42 |
| 132 | Svein Tuft | Garmin - Transitions | 0:16:48 |
| 133 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:17:16 |
| 134 | Mauro Finetto | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:17:32 |
| 135 | Stéphane Auge | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:18:36 |
| 136 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:18:43 |
| 137 | Jos Van Emden | Rabobank | |
| 138 | Anthony Geslin | Française des Jeux | 0:18:46 |
| 139 | Mathieu Perget | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:19:15 |
| 140 | Matteo Bono | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 0:19:36 |
| 141 | Yann Huguet | Skil - Shimano | 0:20:04 |
| 142 | Pierrick Fedrigo | Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:20:18 |
| 143 | Jean Marc Marino | Saur - Sojasun | 0:20:36 |
| 144 | Bjorn Leukemans | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:20:39 |
| 145 | Alessandro Spezialetti | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 0:20:53 |
| 146 | Craig Lewis | Team HTC - Columbia | 0:21:11 |
| 147 | Maxim Gourov | Astana | 0:21:22 |
| 148 | Amaël Moinard | Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:21:24 |
| 149 | Arnaud Gerard | Française des Jeux | 0:21:30 |
| 150 | Benjamin Noval Gonzalez | Astana | 0:22:11 |
| 151 | Jurgen Van Goolen | Omega Pharma - Lotto | 0:22:17 |
| 152 | Oscar Pereiro Sio | Astana | 0:22:22 |
| 153 | Brian Vandborg | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:22:56 |
| 154 | Tom Veelers | Skil - Shimano | 0:23:42 |
| 155 | Vicente Garcia Acosta | Caisse d'Epargne | 0:24:09 |
| 156 | Jakob Fuglsang | Team Saxo Bank | 0:25:06 |
| 157 | Francesco Chicchi | Liquigas - Doimo | 0:25:09 |
| 158 | Jimmy Casper | Saur - Sojasun | 0:26:47 |
| 159 | Joost Posthuma | Rabobank | 0:28:28 |
| 160 | Wouter Weylandt | Quick Step | 0:30:30 |
| 161 | Rick Flens | Rabobank | 0:30:51 |
| 162 | Richie Porte | Team Saxo Bank | 0:32:23 |
| 163 | Jens Mouris | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:35:16 |
| 164 | Dennis Van Winden | Rabobank | 0:36:39 |
| 165 | Kjell Carlström | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:39:21 |
| 166 | Roy Curvers | Skil - Shimano | 0:39:41 |
| Table Built: Thursday, 11 March 2010 22:39 UK | |||