Peter Sagan (AFP)

Aurillac - Peter Sagan of Slovakia won the third stage of Paris-Nice on Wednesday, and German veteran Jens Voigt claimed the overall lead.

Sagan was able to follow Nicolas Roche's attack in the last climb and won the 153-kilometer stage ahead of Joaquin Rodriguez. Roche finished third.

The 38-year-old Voigt was two seconds back in fourth to overtake the yellow jersey from Lars Boom of the Netherlands, who won the opening time trial.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was sixth, with the same time as Voigt.

The 20-year-old Sagan screamed in joy after overpowering a six-man group to claim his first Pro Tour win.

"This is an important moment of my career because this is my first victory in a very big race," Sagan said. "But my goal isn't to win this race. I'm here to help our team leader, Roman Kreuziger, who is still in the race for the general classification."

Kreuziger stands fifth overall, 14 seconds off the pace, while Sagan moved up to second, six seconds behind Voigt. Defending champion Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain is third, nine seconds back.

Because of snow at the scheduled start in Saint-Junien, the stage was shortened by 53 kilometers.

Yann Huguet, Nikolas Maes and former Belgian road champion Jurgen Roelandts broke away after 33 kilometers and led by seven minutes at one stage.

The Caisse d'Epargne and Cofidis teams set up a fast tempo in the last 50 kilometers and Maes was the first to be brought back before Huguet and Roelandts gave up six kilometers from the finish.

Roche launched his attack in the Cote de la Martinie and was followed by a group of five riders, including Voigt and Contador.

Contador's burst of speed in the last kilometers showed he has recovered from his crash in the first stage. The Spaniard climbed to seventh place, 20 seconds behind.