Stage 4 of the Santos Tour Down Under may have had to be shortened – with the removal of the three ascents of the iconic climb of Willunga Hill – but in fire danger conditions that reached an "extreme" rating and with forecast maximum temperatures of 43°C it had in fact been touch and go whether the racing could go ahead at all.
"We're very grateful to be down here. It was going to be 50/50 whether or not we had a stage today, and there were lots of meetings going on behind the scenes, even during the stage yesterday," race director Stuart O'Grady outlined at the start line in Brighton before the racing got underway. "But we've listened to the emergency services, CFS [Country Fire Service], and especially SAPOL [South Australia Police], who were quite concerned about mass gatherings on Willunga Hill.
