The Tour de France champion looked set to win the 'Race to the Sun' last year before cracking suddenly on the penultimate stage to hand victory to countryman Luis Leon Sanchez.
"I think I learnt a great lesson that day, not only for the rest of my season but also for my career as a whole," the Astana team leader said.
Contador tired dramatically with 4km of the stage left, crossing the line on his own two minutes 53 seconds adrift of Sanchez after he "forgot to eat and drink as I should have".
"The big difference from last year is I will have a very competitive team this season. They were incredible on the Tour of Algarve and I'm now confident I can rely on them," Contador said.
The 2007 and 2009 Tour de France champion, who also won Paris-Nice in 2007, made a perfect start to this season by winning the Tour of Algarve last month.
"Paris-Nice is a race which means a lot to me especially as I'm in great shape," said Contador.
"It is one of those races where you feel the same tension as on the Tour," he added before singling out compatriots Sanchez and Alejandro Valverde as his main rivals.
Paris-Nice starts with an 8km prologue in Montfort l'Amaury on Sunday and ends in Nice a week later.
watch this race on Astro Eurosports 814, 10.15pm
from eurosport
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