Team Sky duo Thomas Löfkvist and Dario Cioni finished sixth and ninth respectively at the end of the Tour du Limousin which was won by Gustav Larsson.

The Saxo Bank rider claimed an impressive victory in the time trial on stage two and that 20 second winning margin proved decisive.

The fourth and final stage over 182 kilometres from Ambazac to Limoges was won by Italian Davide Appollonio (Cervélo) who jumped clear of the bunch with two kilometres remaining.

José Joaquín Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) took second and third respectively, two seconds behind along with 52 other riders which included Larsson.

Löfkvist, Cioni, Serge Pauwels and Kjell Carlström were all in that front group and Sports Director Dan Hunt talked us through how the stage had played out for Team Sky.

Tough start

He said: "The first 50 or 60km were on very small, gravelly roads and it took a long time for things to settle. Finally the sort of break that people were happy with went away but the early stages did some damage to the peloton as even after 20km there were riders being dropped.

"Morris (Possoni) managed to slide away with the break which featured 10 riders in total and they quickly established a lead of around two-and-a-half minutes. We had no reason to ride with Morris up there so it was steady away for a while which was a big help as it was hot and humid and pretty hard work.

"As we got to the first of the four 12km finishing circuits the break had started to come back. A new one established itself in the first lap and we had Serge in that. The gap eventually went over the minute mark and at that point FDJ, Cofidis and Caisse d'Epargne decided they didn't want that and started bringing it back in.

"Obviously we just sat back at that point with Serge up there, especially as the plan of the day had originally been to have Russell (Downing) in the sprint but he put his hand up midway through the stage to say he was having a tough time.

"So we said 'okay Serge, here's your opportunity to get stuck in'. He showed great legs yesterday in the finale and he was one of the strongest guys in the break today along with Jérôme Pineau. He rode really, really hard but ultimately 10 guys weren't going to keep clear on those circuits.

"So that came back and there were a flurry of attacks but by that stage we'd sort of played all our cards with guys in both breaks and Russ not in a position to contest the sprint. Thomas and Dario were happily sat in the top 10 on the GC, Kjell had been working hard all day once again and Simon (Gerrans) had already said he just wanted to get to the finish unscathed. A lot of the lads have got bigger fish to fry and it made no sense to risk getting caught in a late crash in what's a preparation race for the Vuelta for some of them.

"We've got a lot out of the race as a whole and are very happy with the way it's gone this week."

Taking the lead

Looking ahead to the Vuelta a España, Hunt was particularly pleased with Löfkvist's all-round contribution.

The Swede was Team Sky's highest-placed rider on the GC at the Tour de France and he'll be their focus on the overall standings at the final Grand Tour of the season.

Hunt added: "I think Thomas has shown real leadership on the road. 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 beyond."

Hunt was also keen to mention the return to form of Pauwels, adding: "I was particularly pleased for Serge because I think his confidence took a knock after the Tour de France when he just wasn't right. He's shown here how much he belongs at this level and that what happened at the Tour wasn't normal for him."