Paris-Nice crash impedes Liberty

The entire Liberty Seguros team were among those who suffered as a result of the crash in the closing kilometres of yesterday's stage of Paris-Nice, though fortunately none of them were hurt.

Only young Australian Aaron Kemps got past the crash at seven kilometres to go, and seeing that his team-mates were all hindered, he decided to wait for them. The subsequent regrouping wasn't enough to prevent the team's leaders, including defending champion Jorg Jaksche, from losing vital seconds.

"The fall happened on the right side of the road and almost all my guys were trapped by it," said Liberty Seguros team manager Manolo Saiz. "The only thing it was good for was the show." Nevertheless, Saiz was philosophical about his team's chances in the remainder of the race. "Though we have lost time, the race isn't over; there will be other opportunities. There was nothing we could do. It was just bad luck."

Liberty Seguros' Igor Galdez de Galdeano had escaped earlier in the day with Fabien Sanchez of la Française des Jeux. "I was keeping en eye on the attacks and I simply went with the good one," said de Galdeano. "The fall was unfortunate as we were going for that side of the highway. I have been feeling good and that is the most important thing. I will continue fighting for this Paris-Nice."