Markus Zberg (Gerolsteiner) has won Stage 7 of Paris-Nice. The Gerolsteiner rider took a four-up sprint from Evgeny Petrov (Lampre) and Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) to win the mountainous, 135-km ride in and around Nice in 3:29:38. Floyd Landis (Phonak) is the overall winner.

The racing began early. At 15 km, Francisco Ventoso (Saunier Duval), Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile), Matej Mugerli (Liquigas), Lilian Jegou (Francaise des Jeux), and Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r) escaped. Eighteen km later, Mario Aerts (Davitamon), Aitor Osa (Liberty Seguros), Dimitri Fofonov (Credit Agricole), and David Moncoutie (Cofidis) joined the quintet.

Mugerli, Arrieta, and Osa escaped their companions, and Zberg, Joaquin Rodriguez (Caisse d?Epargne), Contador, and Sergio Paulinho (Liberty Seguros) joined them. In Nice, Moncoutie, Paulinho, and Mugerli were dropped. On the Col d?Eze (112 km), Contador and Rodriguez attacked.

For a time, Zberg stayed with Contador and Rodriguez, but the Swiss rider was eventually dropped. Petrov attacked from the peloton and picked up Zberg and Antonio Colom (Caisse d? Epargne). The trio bridged up to the two leaders. The five men fought out the sprint, which Zberg won easily.

In the overall, Landis beat Patxi Vila (Lampre) by 0:09 and Colom by 1:05. For the second consecutive year, an American has won the first major stage race of the season. Does this portend another American victory in the Tour de France? Will the winner?s name be Landis? Check in at http://www.roadcycling.com/ and find out!