Geraint Thomas is on the cusp of the biggest win of his career after seizing the lead in the Paris-Nice race.

The Cardiff flier finished second on the penultimate queen stage after a fierce summit battle but picked up valuable bonus seconds over his main rivals.

Thomas catapulted up from sixth overnight to now lead two-time Tour de France champ Alberto Contador by 15 secs after beating the Spaniard into third on the stage.

Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin won the 108-mile queen stage after outsprinting Thomas with the finish line at Madone d’Utelle in sight to lie third overall five secs further adrift.

Overnight leader Michael Matthews was dropped on one of the tough climbs to tumble down the leaderboard

Thomas, 29, will be hoping to be crowned champ on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice today to underline his credentials as a Grand Tour contender.

Thomas said: “I perhaps went a bit early and couldn’t hold off Zakarin at the end.

“It would have been nice to win the stage but to gain time was really good.

“We’ve got a huge stage left. It’s going to be very hard and a lot can still change.

“We can’t tale anything for granted but I’ve got a strong team around me – probably the strongest in the race – and I’m in a great position.”
Endig

The Monaco-based racer has already won the Volta ao Algarve having helped Chris Froome to Tour glory last year.