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Spain's Alejandro Valverde won the 37th Tour Mediterraneen after coming second in the fifth and final stage.

The Caisse d'Epargne rider finished behind Italy's AG2R rider Rinaldo Nocentini after the 126km race between La Ciotat and Toulon.

Francesco Masciarelli of Acqua & Sapone finished second in the overall classification.

Stage Four

Julien El Fares was declared stage four winner after racing was suspended because of hail at the Tour Mediterraneen in Biot.

The Cofidis rider, of France, was at the head of the peloton at 114km, when local authorities in Alpes-Martimes decided that conditions were too dangerous for a sprint finish.

The stage was allowed to start despite snow on the roadside.

Jussi Veikkanen (Francaise des Jeux) retained the yellow jersey ahead of Sunday's final stage, finishing at Mont-Faron in Toulon.

Stage Three

Yauheni Hutarovich won his second stage at the Tour Mediterraneen in a sprint finish in Fours Le Brusc

The Francaise des Jeux rider from Belarus outpaced Fabien Bacquet of Big Mat and another Frenchman Mathieu Drujon at the end of the 115km stage from Greasque.

Bbox's William Bonnet and Cofidis rider Leonardo Duque completed the top five as Hutarovich's team-mate Jussi Veikkannen finished safely in the pack to maintain his race lead.

Stage Two

Jussi Veikkanen ensured back-to-back wins for his Francaise des Jeux with victory in stage two of the Tour Mediterraneen.

But Veikkanen's triumph was shrouded in controversy after an official directed the sprint lead-out train of Vacansoleil off-course, with the Finnish rider one of the first to take the correct route before out-muscling Big Mat-Auber 93 pair Fabien Bacquet and Johan Mombaerts.

The stage was dominated by the three-man break of Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone), Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions) and William Bonnet (Bouygues Telecom).

Martin, nephew of 1987 triple crown winner Stephen Roche, survived until just 1km from the finish, when he was caught by the peloton.

Officials are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast ahead of the 115 km third stage with snow expected after icy conditions made racing treacherous on the first two days.

Stage One

Francaise des Jeux rider Yauheni Hutarovich claimed victory in the first stage of the Tour Mediterraneen in icy conditions in the south-west of France.

The Belarusian edged out Frenchman William Bonnet (BBox) and Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) at the end of the flat 95km stage between Carcassonne and Sauvian, the shortest stage of the five-day race.

Hutarovich, who also won the opening stage last year, registered his and his team's first win of the new season.

This year's race features a strong line-up, and both Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) were present at the business end of proceedings on the opening day of the tour.

Victory handed the 26-year-old Hutarovich the overall lead of the race ahead of Thursday's 170km second stage between Peynier and Trets.

The race ends in Toulon on Sunday.

Eurosport