Sports Director Dan Hunt reckons the Tour du Limousin was the perfect preparation for Thomas Löfkvist and his teammates ahead of the Vuelta a España.

Löfkvist led home Team Sky in the four-day French race in sixth place on the GC and he along with Kjell Carlström and Simon Gerrans will now focus on the final Grand Tour of the season which starts in Seville next Saturday.

"They all said how hard the week was so we're pretty happy with how it went," said Team Sky Race Coach Hunt, for whom the Tour du Limousin was his 'debut' as 1st DS.

"Marcus [Ljungqvist, who acted as 2nd DS] and myself sat down on day one and asked the guys what they hoped to get out of it - they said they wanted to come here, ride hard, work hard and make it good preparation for targets ahead. And if we get up there on GC then great. I think we did that - and then some. So they are tired but happy.

"It's actually a tough Tour and much harder than I thought. The French nickname this one the 'Punishment Tour' - it's up and down all day long on real hard roads and you've just got to pedal the whole way round. So it's perfect for those who were here for Vuelta preparation, it couldn't have been better for them.

"Thomas and Kjell were very much focussed on that and both had good solid rides while Simon will have benefitted enormously from his first race since being injured at the Tour de France.

Leading role

And with the Vuelta in mind, Hunt was also keen to note an added bonus from Limousin.

Hunt explained: "I think Thomas has shown real leadership out there. He's had a very relaxed and positive demeanour all week. And what's shone through plenty of times is that he's the leader on the road which bodes really well for him for the Vuelta and future races."

For Hunt himself the race marked his debut as 1st DS and it was an experience he thorougly enjoyed, even if he joked: "I was just glad to bring everyone home alive!"

Having been involved with British Cycling since 2005, Hunt's successes include coaching Rebecca Romero and Wendy Houvenaghel to Olympic gold and silver respectively in the 2008 Beijing Games.

And he said of the last week: "It's been fantastic. I'll be honest and say I was quite nervous coming in because this is the first time I've done this role. I've been 2nd DS on maybe eight stage races this season but being in the first car is a little bit different.

"It's a bit more stressful but I've enjoyed it. At the end of the day I'm learning a new job and I've asked for feedback from all the guys. I had Marcus here as the 2nd DS which was good as we've worked together a lot and it's nice to be able to talk about the tactics between us and then deliver it down the radio."