Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) won the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under that was expected to be an uneventful affair but turned out to be quite the opposite. We have already posted a number of reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Laurent Didier (Trek, 28th on the stage, 16th on GC +1.01)

“At the start we climbed from seven kilometers which was already hard.  GreenEdge took control after that to the first sprint and in the winds things were already breaking apart. They again took control before the climb and went full on in the climb and made the selection. After the sprint Lotto took control. It was fast the whole day.

“It was only Fränk [Schleck] and me at the end. Normally we should have been more represented in the front to be up there. At the end Lotto was with six and Sky with five. Fränk and me cannot do much in a finish like this. But now we look ahead to tomorrow.”

Kim Andersen (sports director Trek whose best rider was Laurent Didier in 28th)

“GreenEdge gave full gas in the climb which did not look so steep in the book but was really steep, and with the wind at the top, Fabio [Felline] lost contact. Danny [Van Poppel] was bad the whole day, and was chasing just to keep contact.  It’s too bad because we missed to have a sprinter in the front group, and for Fabio it would have been a good finish.”

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (sports director Sky whose best rider was Geraint Thomas in 16th)

"It was a stressful stage from the start. Then there were a few kilometres where the peloton were looking for koalas and chilling out – then at the end it kicked off again and there were riders all over the place. Luckily we had our two GC guys up front with riders supporting them. Luke [Rowe] had some bad luck as he was up there but then got a flat tyre and couldn’t get help because there were no service cars in between. All in all it was an okay day. Hopefully we can do something tomorrow on Willunga."

Francesco Gavazzi (Astana, 10th on the stage, 30th on GC +2.33)

“It should have been an easy stage – with a sprint finish. But about 40k from the finish there was a crosswind and we were alone at the front with about 15 riders, mostly sprinters. I tried to do a good sprint but it was just chaos and what else could I do?”

Yvon Madiot (sports director FDJ whose best rider was Anthony Roux in 9th)

"Yes, he [Anthony Roux] goes better and he had a great pilot to guide him in the sprint. William Bonnet is a really great teammate and he also ended in the first group. The wind is really an area where we need to improve even though our classics riders, except William, are not here. Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier was also in the front group but he really felt his crash from yesterday."

Bruno Vicino (sports director Lampre-Merida whose best rider was Diego Ulissi in 34th)

"The original intention was to work for Ferrari who could compete in the sprint, but the race has taken a completely different course because of the strong wind. Thus we have thus revised our priorities and we have focused on supporting Ulissi. I have to thank all of our guys. "

Cameron Wurf (Cannondale, most aggressive rider, 48th on the stage, 29th on GC +1.52)

"What happened in the Giro (Tour of Italy) last year (was) every time I went into a breakaway, Elia Viviani got a good result, so he did today too. I attacked again in the final climb to get the sprint trains disorganised. I was hungry today because I was very disappointed yesterday to not get the position I wanted up to Corkscrew climb. With Jens Voigt, we also have a bit of a competition running for being the rider who attacks the most."

Jonathan Cantwell (Drapac, 12th on the stage, 46th on GC +6.52)

“As soon as the climb happened it was really hard, lots of cross-winds. Orica GreenEdge tried to do everything they could to get rid of a lot of people and they did a really good job. Credit to our boys – five Drapac guys that were in the front 45. We’re strong and we’re in a good position and we deserve to ride at the WorldTour level.

“Coming into the finish, I knew the finish and I knew it was going to be tough. I had a fantastic position the last 20km, just sitting on Greipel and I wasn’t letting anyone in. Unfortunately with about two-and-a-half kilometres to go it goes down a really fast decent into a set of roundabouts and we got jostled around and lost a couple of guys, as well as Greipel’s wheel. Luckily I had Travis Meyer and he took me back up there but it sort of put me into the red zone going into the last couple of corners. I was just glimpsing at my heart rate and it was already 182 and we hadn’t even started sprinting yet.

“It was still a good day. I’m happy with how the boys rode – Bernie [Sulzberger], Lappers [Darren Lapthorne], Travis Meyer, [Robbie] Hucker’s just riding incredibly for his first major race. I’m disappointed I couldn’t get on the podium for the boys. Tomorrow’s another day and hopefully I can be good for Sunday.”

Henk Vogels (sports director Drapac whose best rider was Jonathan Cantwell in 12th)

“I’m really, really happy. We had someone in the break, that didn’t work out. Then to have five guys in the leading 45 is a really good result and shows how strong the team is. We’re in the race.

"[Adam] Hansen got some points today in the KOM so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Top three in the KOM would be nice. Will [Clarke] is obviously very tired.  He was in the first break of the day, he had a bike change and struggled early on.

“We’ll try again tomorrow for a stage win and again on Sunday and if we can move up in teams that would be good as well. Wes [Sulzberger] was obviously strong when he moved away today. He rolled into the finish easy today and I expect to see him have a go tomorrow as well as Darren [Lapthorne].”

Jack Haig (UniSA, best young rider, 29th on the stage, 23rd on GC +1.18)

"The ride was actually pretty hard - right from the start the pack went pretty hard at the gun up the highway. During a section along an exposed ridge with maybe 80km to go, the crosswinds got pretty bad quite and quite a few riders got dropped. At that point, a small group got away and ended up staying away until the finish. I managed to be a part of that group."

"The thing I do best is climbing so I'm hoping I can get a good result tomorrow and keep the young riders jersey.

"With all the crosswinds, it was a question of staying out of the gutter. The bunch split and I was the only young rider up there I think. Anyway the kid from FDJ [Kenny Elissonde] wasn’t so I take the jersey over from him. I have a really good chance to win this jersey tomorrow because I’m a good climber. This is my first Santos Tour Down Under, it’s amazing!"

Dave Sanders (sports director UniSA whose best rider was Jack Haig in 29th)

"We had a target particularly for young Jack to try and get himself up on Young Riders classification and that's exactly what happened. The group split up and all the other young riders disappeared except Jack. He now has the jersey and he's in a pretty safe position. It wasn't an easy place to be, the best riders were there but he survived when none of the other young riders did, so it was great, I'm really happy with that."