Three weeks ago Sergio Henao entered the Vuelta a España as a hotly tipped outsider to wreak havoc in the general classification on the many summit finishes included in the race itinerary of the Spanish Grand Tour.

Fast forward three weeks and the diminutive Colombian rider has precious little to show for his efforts in terms of stage wins or a place on the podium.

However, Sky Sports Director Nicolas Portal said the past three weeks would serve as a useful learning experience for Henao when he reflected on a number of near-misses in the race and talked about how the three weeks will make Henao a stronger rider during his next leadership role.

“Sergio is disappointed on one side as he doesn’t have the results on paper at the end of the race,” Portal said on the Sky website. “But he can certainly learn from this experience and leading the team at a Grand Tour. He will know how to manage these different pressures better next time around and learn from his mistakes.

“As a team we had a lot of second and third places. If the luck had gone our way and we’d taken a few of those stages it could have proved to be a successful race. Sometimes you just miss out by a tyre-width, but the really positive thing for me is that during the last three weeks the ambience in the team has been really good.”