Sports director Sean Yates believes Team Sky will have learned a lot from their debut Tour de France campaign and insists every member of the team gave it their all during the three weeks of action.

Hopes had been high going into cycling's biggest event but things didn't quite run to plan for the team, who had been aiming to lead Bradley Wiggins to a podium position whilst also challenging for stage victories along the way.

Wiggins would ultimately end the race in 24th position and the closest the team came to a stage victory was Geraint Thomas' sole second-placed finish on the cobble-laden fourth day in Belgium.

Yates though, was keen to stress the many positives he saw emerge while following the race in the team car, and he is confident of future improvements.

He said: "Apart from the obvious disappointment of Bradley's GC position I think we did a fantastic job. Of course, we would have liked to have won a stage, and although that didn't happen, it wasn't for the lack of trying.

"You have to remember that there were a lot of other guys in the bike race who wanted the stage wins just like us, and sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. To use the football analogy - we were like a new team starting out in the Premier League and I think we gave a good account of ourselves, acquitted ourselves correctly, and contributed right the way through the race. That was one of the most important and most pleasing aspects for me.

"In reflection, our expectations for Bradley might have been a bit too high, and his result might have been a bit of a comedown to certain people, but that's just the way it goes.

"When you're in the team car like I was watching these guys for 20 days straight, you could see they were giving it their all and getting involved in the race. We had a plan every day and we stuck to it as best we could."

Bright future

The display of Geraint Thomas in the first week of action was especially pleasing to Yates, who also chose to single out the efforts of Thomas Löfkvist and Edvald Boasson Hagen as the race drew on.

He added: "G was tremendous from the word go. His fifth-placed finish in the prologue exceeded our expectations and then he produced an unbelievable performance on that cobbled stage. The fact that he also wore the white jersey for three days, and got within two seconds of the yellow jersey, seems to have been forgotten a bit as well.

"As for Thomas [Löfkvist], I felt he had a solid race and he stuck to his task of maintaining his GC position well. In past Tours he has faded a bit in the last week, but he didn't do that this year, so he was happy.

"With Edvald, it was always going to be hard for him to compete against the likes of Cav in the sprints, and then he got sick in those last 10 days, so it was always going to be an uphill battle from thereon in. Three top-five finishes though is a great achievement for someone in their first Tour."

Before Yates takes a well-deserved break, he will be overseeing the team's next performance at the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastián on 31 July and we will have all the news and reaction from that, so be sure to check in then.