Even if Bradley Wiggins did not win his last race : Paris Roubaix, the British rider marked an emotional end with Team Sky. General manager Dave Brailsford, who worked with him since the junior ranks on the track, told on the Team Sky website about Wiggo.

"So much was made about this race with it being Brad’s last appearance for us, and it was difficult to watch it in the same way you normally would," Brailsford said to TeamSky.com. "Some detractors may say him finishing 18th is a little underwhelming, but if you take a step back, the guy has won the Tour de France and the Olympics and did absolutely everything he could today. He was there with 30km to go attacking on his own, and at that point I was thinking ‘Jesus, he might ride away from everybody here’. That takes some doing and he should hold his head up high. He gave it a good old crack, like he always does. For a lot of people it was all about him and his performance today, and I think he did exceptionally, as always."

Paris-Roubaix was also the last race for Bradley Wiggins. We will be able to see him again on track for the Hour record. "These things comes to an end, though, and you try to think of a nice way to end a sporting career - do you step out at the top or do you become a fading light and drift away? We thought long and hard about that and decided this was a good way of doing it. It doesn’t feel like he’s stopping and retiring because he is obviously not, and I think we made a good decision to do it like this. It feels like a nice way to end."

"Personally, we have been through a lot together and he has done an awful lot for British cycling, and the whole of sport," Brailsford said. "When you consider his versatility, he has got to be right up there with one of the best athletes that the country has ever produced."