Freier wins 4th stage of Tour Down Under

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) - Oscar Freire of Spain won the fourth stage of cycling's Tour Down Under on Friday as the first testing climb of the six-stage race ended Andre Greipel's hopes of a third tour victory.

Greipel entered the stage with an eight second lead on general classification and increased that to 11 seconds when he picked up a 3-second time bonus by winning the first intermediate sprint.

But the steep climb up Mengler's Hill, 12.5 miles from the finish of Thursday's 81-mile stage from Norwood to Tanunda, ended Greipel's hopes of adding to his 2008 and 2010 Tour wins.

He was left behind as 40 riders broke away on the climb and he crossed the finish line seven minutes behind the stage winner.