Vinokourov won Paris–Nice in 2002, taking the leader's jersey after attacking Laurent Jalabert and Andrei Kivilev on Mont Faron. The penultimate stage to the Col d'Eze, a mountaintop finish, Vinokourov kept his lead and won Paris–Nice the following day. Later in 2002, he won the first mountain stage in the Tour de Suisse but several stages later he fell on a mountain descent and was taken to hospital after the stage. Vino abandoned the race to prepare for the Tour but it was discovered two weeks later that he had a broken coccyx and could not ride the 2002 Tour de France.