Tom Boonen beat André Greipel in a photo finish to win the extremely fast fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar that was raced at an average speed of more than 56km/h. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Dirk Demol (sports director Trek whose best rider was Yaroslav Popovuch in 37th)

“I have never seen a stage this fast! The fastest I ever saw was in the Tour of Spain, and that was 55kmh. Today was even faster - it was almost 57km/h. The first hour was more than 59km/h. That’s incredible! It was almost all day with a strong tailwind, and sometimes a tail crosswind, and from the gun it was full gas and echelons. It was a very hard stage.

“We were hoping to do well in GC with the TT on the third day, but with all the bad luck we had on the second day with the punctures and crashes, that took us out of contention. When you are not in the GC anymore this is a challenge for the concentration, especially at the beginning, and at this race when you are not in the very, very front immediately, you are in trouble the whole day. But we did okay today; we finished with four in the first group.

“It’s a bit difficult for us now since it’s dead flat, and we don’t have a sprinter in the team, and we are not in the game anymore for GC. But yesterday we proved in the TT that we are not bad, we still have a bit of work to do, but I am confident we are following the right way."

Philippe Gilbert (BMC, 38th s.t.)

"The start was extremely fast. We had about a 56 kph average. It is one of the fastest races I have ever done. It was amazing. We had the front chain ring of 55 and sometimes this helped a lot. We had a tailwind, sometimes a little bit crosswind, but mostly tailwind. I was not able to sprint, but I was trying to help Martin Kohler. It was not easy because Quick Step took the right place on the road and then it was very hard to go in the front."

Valerio Piva (sports director BMC whose best rider was Martin Kohler in 23rd)

"It was good today because the team was together. I sometimes heard on the radio that we were trying to attack and pull fast. We don't have a sprinter here but we will try again to win tomorrow. In Qatar, it's difficult, if you don't have a sprinter."

Laurent Mangel (FDJ.fr, 135th +7.02)

"I was a little bit behind in the neutral zone. It went from the gun. I never saw the front!"

Martial Gayant (sports director FDJ.fr whose best rider was Arnaud Demare in 7th)

"In the end, Murillo (Fischer) did a good job as has Yoann (Offredo) who didn't have much left. We missed Mickael Delage (who had missed the selection) to properly lead out Arnaud who was 7th in his first sprint but you need to keep it in perspective as he does it himself. The teams Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Lotto Belisol are superior and we must also take into account all the bad luck we have had since the beginning of the week. Arnaud is going well and will perhaps have another opportunity in Qatar but the important thing is that he makes it to the Volta ao Algarve at the end of the month in very good condition. He needs to take a win before Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne."

Servais Knaven (sports director Sky whose best rider was Bernhard Eisel in 10th)

“That was one of the fastest stages I’ve ever been part of – both as a rider and a DS. It fluctuated between cross and tail winds which meant it there was a lot of action going on. The guys rode really well and it was pleasing to see six of them in the front group at the finish.

“Bernie did a good job and it was nice to see Ian move up on GC. Lars Boom worked hard to get back in the front group after his puncture but the effort that took meant he eventually got dropped with around 5km to go.

“All our riders are fine though, and they actually rode the 50km back to the hotel on the bikes for a bit of extra training. Most of them are using this race to build their form for the Classics because the high speeds, accelerations, and fighting for position are similar to what they’ll experience there. You can’t replicate that in training either so hopefully it’ll stand them in good stead.

“CJ (Chris Sutton who crashed in the People's Choice Classic) is riding well and was one of those who finished in the first group. His wrist is still giving him a little pain but it’s getting better with every passing day and we’ll definitely see him back to full strength when we get back to Europe for the next phase of racing.”

Jacopo Guarnieri (Astana, 6th s.t.)

“As fast as it was today, the echelons kept forming and kept forming but the big split never came – at about 30k to go it was a serious split, and I was there – but at like 15k it came back together.”

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha, 12th s.t.)

“It was a very tough stage today. In every moment we rode on our maximum.  There was a strong wind, the pace of the group was high and there were many attacks, but our team was really good. My teammates did a great job today and helped me a lot as well as each other. In the final, Vladimir Isaychev put me in a good position with 1 km to go. I gave my best for the sprint, but I was a little bit tired in the final. It was not an easy stage for me personally. I am not on my top form yet but I am improving day by day. I feel in a very short time my shape will be ok.”

Matteo Pelucchi (IAM, 8th s.t.)

“I am happy enough with my race and my sprint, though it may seem a little paradoxical.  A placing like that at this difficult level of competition is not that bad of a result, and my legs feel good.

"In this Qatar, I can still win one of the two remaining stages.  Tom Boonen is not invincible.  But today Omega Pharma-Quickstep certainly set him up flawlessly so he could make a faultless sprint. 

"I was well positioned with three kilometers to go to the finish.  I lost a few places in a corner and had to gain back my position little by little, exposing myself to the wind more than I would have liked.  Then with 300 meters to the finish, I was out in the wind on my own, so a victory was out of the question.

“I worked a lot this winter.  And I was already surprised with how well I was going at our training camp on Mallorca.  Today I was able to confirm the benefits of my preparation.  I am feeling better every day.  The legs feel supple, and I am not suffering from the fatigue I felt last year.” 

Kjell Carlstrom (sports director IAM whose best rider was Matteo Pelucchi in 8th)

“Matteo has taken a step ahead.  It shows.  He was already at ease during our training on Mallorca in mid-January.  And in spite of the bewildering speed at which they covered today’s stage, he still succeeded in hanging tough at the front with super fast guys like Boonen, Greipel and Démare.  That means all the hard work is beginning to show dividends.  I am glad to see him thinking about his next attacks.  He’ll come away with a big win with an attitude like that.”

Lars Michaelsen (sports director Tinkoff-Saxo whose best rider was Matti Breschel in 15th)

“For a lot of riders it was all about hanging on to the pack today and already after 5 kilometers, the first big split divided the field. As Manuele (Boaro) has been suffering from stomach cramps yesterday and today, he was dropped right away but yet fought his way through the stage. The final selection was made after 95 kilometers of racing and we had Daniele (Bennati), Michael (Mørkøv), Matti (Breschel), Christopher (Juul-Jensen) and Karsten (Kroon) in the first group of about 50 riders but unfortunately for Juul, he had a flat with 20 kilometers to go and never bridged the gap again. Tomorrow, We’re expecting more crosswind opportunities."

Alex Sans Vega (sports director NetApp-Endura whose best rider was Sam Bennett in 5th)

“Placing in the top 5 in the first race for his new team is a huge success for Sam, since part of the time he had no free sprint on the last 200 meters and had to change his course again and again. This makes his placement today all the more impressive.

“Our plan for today was to always have as many riders as possible in the leading groups and to complete the final sprint like we trained together on Majorca. The lads succeeded in doing both outstandingly today and were rewarded with Sam’s excellent placement."

Filippo Fortin (Bardiani, 17th s.t.)

”It’s a pity!. I came back to the first group in the final and then with (Marco) Coledan we planned the strategy for the bunch sprint. He, as always, led me in the in first positions in the right time, but before starting my sprint, my bike was touched by another and I broke my shift. I know it’s an incident that sometimes happens but today I believed I could achieve an important result. Now there is another two stages where I hope to have the right chance to sprint”.

Roberto Reverberi (sports director Bardiani whose best rider was Marco Coledan in 11th)

”Today's result doesn’t tell the truth. Also the 11th place for Coledan, who did another solid performance, doesn’t say anything about a positive team performance. Fortin suffered for this incident and is a pity because he had the chance to reach a good result. Anyway, they guys raced today well and better than the first days. This means that we’re growing and we can look to the next stages with confidence”.