Before the start of the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana, several riders and sports director spoke to the organizers. Below you can read what they had to say.

Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin): 'It's true that I have a reputation in this kind of finales. But this time I think that it's a bit short for me. If the last climb had been three kilometers from the line, it would have been better. We also have Moreno [Moser] who can do well on this type of finish. We only have four days in the race but the heat is exhausting and the bodies are tired. Mind you it could have been worse. It was 45 degrees in the region two weeks ago."

Jempy Drucker (BMC): "For us, things couldn't have started any better with our victory in the team time trail. Yesterday there was a chance to take in the sprint and I tried to seize it. Unfortunately I started my sprint from too far. I was like in the 20th or 25th position. I'm happy in these circumstances to finish 4th behind the three great sprinters in this Vuelta. It's up to me to try to sneak in between now. I've just seen the video and today's finale is much too hard for me. I'm going to work to protect our leaders. It'll be much better tomorrow."

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky): "It's not going too bad for me so far. On Sunday, in the climb, I was doing alright. I had decided not to ride in the front. I'm going to go through this first week and see how my condition is and to try not to wane in the third week. I'm doing this Vuelta with several objectives in mind, maybe the worlds, work on my condition for next season but above all to enjoy the race."

Chris Froome (Team Sky): "It's going to be a very long stage in the heat with a hard finish. We'll just have to wait and see what happens".

Nairo Quintana (Movistar): "I'm happy with my condition since the start and the way I performed on sunday in the first climb. Today is a long day but I'm not worried.  have very good team-mates to take care of me."

Dominique Rollin (Cofidis): "Nacer is very motivated but he suffers from the back after his crash yesterday. I couldn't help him in the finale yesterday because I punctured 6 km from the line. But we'll try again tomorrow hoping to snatch one. Today it's too hard."

Simon Gerrans (Orica Greenedge): "It's a pleasure to have a chance to share my Grand Tour experience with this young riders like Esteban, Adam (Yates) or Esteban. If we manage to keep them inside the team I think we could have a team with real Grand Tour contenders. For now in this Vuelta, the aim is not to go for stage wins, we have bigger fish to fry."

Caleb Ewan (Orica Greenedge): "For the team, It's been a really good start. For me personally, it's been pretty tough. Yesterday I was hoping to get over the climb at mid-stage but it was too hard for me. My team was doing a good job to keep it cruising for me but when the Tinkoff Saxo and Giant moved forward, it was too hard. Today at the end, there's still the last kilometer at 10 pc that's too hard for me. Maybe more for the Valverde type of sprinters. Tomorrow is the stage I will go for. Personally I would be disappointed if I did not win a stage or make a podium place. But at the end of the day, I came here for experience. The team does not expect anything from me and that's a nice environment to be in. It's probably a little bit too much to ask to win a stage in a first Grand Tour."

Eusebio Unzue (Movistar manager): 'If Sagan and Tinkoff race well, even Valverde does not stand a chance today. It's a very tough finish that will suit Chaves, Purito and maybe even more Dani Moreno. We're not going to control. We have plenty of time to do that. We're here for the GC and our priority is not to lose time."

Giuseppe Martinelli (Astana manager): "We're still sorry about  what happened but the situation is fine for Aru and Landa. Today, Sagan is the one who'll decide on the script. It's also a finish for Valverde and our goal is for Aru to stay with him. It's not Nibali's year. It happens in a career. He will need three or four days to relax. Then he'll discuss with his coach what he does for the rest of the season."

Christian Guiberteau (Giant-Alpecin sports director): "The finale is a little hard for John Degenkolb especially in the last 500 metros at 9 pc. We tell ourselves that it will be much better today. The team has a few worries. Waeyens crashed and Stamsnijder is sick. We'fe not going to work too hard. It's not up to us to do it. But maybe Tom Dumoulin can have a card to play today."

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin): "After my long break  following my crash in the Tour, I'm a bit surpassed to have such good legs. My second place on Sunday gives me a lot of confidence and it's true that the stage suits me well on paper. Sunday was an appetizer and I'm now happy for the rest of the Vuelta."

Dominique Arnould (Europcar sports director): " It's a finish for punchers and Cyril Gautier is our man even if I believe like many others that it's a stage for Sagan."

Bruno Vicino (Lampre-Merida sports director): "We had a great scare for Niemiec on Sunday. We feared brain problems but it was only a minor concussion. For us, the only objective in this Vuelta is to win a stage. For the sprints, we have Richeze but he's isolated. Later we'll have Cattaneo and Durasek in the mountains."

Dirk Demol (Trek Factory sports director): "Fabian Cancellara's morale took a blow yesterday. He had recovered well from his crash in Harelbeek but had been forced out of the Tour de France after three days. He had enough mental strength to return here at a good level. Now sickness forces him out of it. He wanted to do well in Richmond. But for this he needed to complete a grand Tour. He only has one-day races left like Paris-Brussels and the Grand Prix of Fourmies but he knows it won't be enough to be 100 pc at the worlds. He's flying back to Switzerland today and will decide on the rest of the season."s