Samuel Dumoulin bounced back in style to win the Etoile de Bessèges on Sunday as Team Sky's riders finished in the main peloton.

Dumoulin, who was demoted after winning the fourth stage on Saturday, finished 10th on the 145km fifth and final stage from Gagnières to Bessèges to jump to the top of the overall standings.

The Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne rider, who was the winner of the third stage and prominent throughout, won the GC ahead of Matthieu Ladagnous (Francaise Des Jeux) and Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post - Sean Kelly).

The final stage itself, another bunch sprint, was won by Ghyllebert's teammate Niko Eeckhout, with Valentin Iglinsky (Astana) and Hans Dekkers (Landbouwkrediet) finishing second and third respectively.

Virus

However it was badly affected by 24 withdrawals on account of a virus that has swept through the peloton this week.

It claimed three Team Sky riders on the final day - John-Lee Augustyn, Peter Kennaugh and Steve Cummings.

Michael Barry, who himself had suffered earlier in the week, told us: "Bugs tend to spread through the peloton quickly especially this time of year when it is cold and our immune systems are a little more stressed than they might be when it is warmer.

"Also, returning to the peloton is a bit like a child returning to school and falling ill repeatedly - bugs are everywhere and after a good break from the race environment we need to build up immunity again."

The four that did take part, Barry, Nicolas Portal, Morris Possoni and Sylvain Calzati, all did well to finish in the main bunch with the same time as the winner.

Barry explained: "Racing with half the number of riders that other teams have is a challenge as it is difficult to control the race.

"The stage ended up being formulaic and controlled by the leading team, Cofidis - it again came down to a field sprint so we simply rode together near the front to make sure we didn't miss any major moves or splits."

Portal ended the event as the team's highest placed rider on the general classification, in 44th place and 10 seconds behind Dumoulin.