Alberto Contador wins 1st stage of Paris-Nice

Alberto Contador shrugged off the pouring rain to win the first stage of the Paris-Nice race on Sunday.

The in-form Spaniard, who won the Tour of Algarve in Portugal last month, completed the 9.3-kilometer (5.8-mile) time trial around Amilly in 11 minutes, 6 seconds.

"I really started fast and it was very hard in the last bit," Contador told the event's Web site, "but I felt well and my team director told me I was in the lead, so I gave it my all. I'm really happy."

Contador, one of only five men to win the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta, returned to the weeklong event after his Astana team was barred last year in the wake of doping scandals.

Lance Armstrong, Contador's teammate, skipped the race after finishing seventh in the Tour of California last month, but will ride in Italy's Milan-San Remo race on March 21.

Contador and Armstrong are set to compete together in Spain's Tour of Castille-Leon from March 23-27.

"Paris-Nice is a race that motivates me and I want to win it," said Contador, who won the event in 2007. "But it will be hard to go for the overall standings because we have lots of hard stages ahead of us. To have won this stage and taken the yellow jersey is already a great satisfaction."

Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins of Britain finished second, seven seconds behind Contador. Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain took third, nine seconds back.

Among the favorites, Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia placed 19th, 31 seconds behind Contador.

Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy, who finished second in last year's Paris-Nice, was 26th, three seconds behind Evans, while Frank Schleck of Luxembourg came in 32nd.

The Paris-Nice finishes on March 15, with Monday's second stage taking the pack on a 195.5-kilometer route from Saint-Brisson-sur-Loire to La-Chapelle-Saint-Ursin.