Dave Brailsford has wasted no time in looking at the key areas Team Sky will work on ahead of next year's Tour de France.

Team Sky's debut appearance at Le Tour saw Thomas Löfkvist finish as their leading rider in 17th on the general classification, seven places above team leader Bradley Wiggins.

In common with many other big names who also tackled the Giro d'Italia in May, Wiggins found his top form elusive when the Tour de France hit the mountains.

"Basically it's all about conditioning, it's as simple as that," said Brailsford, when asked what the team has learned from their first appearance in the world's biggest race.

"It's all about tuning the engine and getting the condition and fitness spot on. That's the biggest thing we can do. It doesn't matter how many marginal gains we make - at the end of the day if you haven't got the engine you aren't going to go anywhere.

"So I think it's important to recognise what the key things are we can build on and top of that list are fitness and freshness. We'll take a lot of that learning into next year and will probably approach the conditioning a little differently."

Löfkvist leads the way

While Wiggins wasn't able to match his own expectations, Brailsford was keen to highlight the efforts of Swede Löfkvist, the man who supported his team leader superbly in the mountains.

"I've been very impressed by Thomas Löfkvist," said Brailsford. "He came here and he's got the best out of himself for which he deserves a huge pat on the back.

"I think he's been overshadowed a little bit but he's had a tremendous Tour de France. He has committed and ridden out of his skin, squeezing every last drop out of himself. He's been absolutely phenomenal.

"Geraint [Thomas] obviously did a great job too by getting the young riders' jersey in that first week and taking second in the stage on the pavé."

Fan-tastic

But when asked to name his highlight from Team Sky's first Tour de France, Brailsford had no hesitation, saying: "My abiding memory of this Tour will be the fans.

"There's been an incredible number of Union Jack flags and Team Sky tops. And it's not just been the Brits - there have been many, many Norwegians and plenty of other nationalities too. They've been absolutely fantastic and so warm towards us.

"I wasn't expecting that so early so it's been pretty mind-boggling. It's a huge thing to take away for from the race and bodes so well for the future."