With Sergio Henao out of the game, Team Sky have had a very difficult Ardennes campaign and yesterday they hit the rock bottom at the Fleche Wallonne. Fielding six riders at the start, only David Lopez and Danny managed to finish the race, crossing the in 126th and 135th respectively.

Team Sky were unable to influence the finale as they emerged from a character-building edition of Flèche Wallonne.

David López was the team's top finisher but, as Sports Director Nicolas Portal explained, the Spaniard's recent training block caught up with him late on.

“David came from a training camp at altitude," he explained. "He was the leader today as we knew that if he carried good form out of the camp then he could be in really good form.

"He was feeling really good until the last 20km where he began to feel empty and tired. That is due to the training camp being close to the race but he will be feeling much better for Liege on Sunday and then (Tour de) Romandie coming up.

"Pete (Kennaugh) was really looking to do well and was motivated for the race but he again faded a bit in the closing stages. We know he has the talent and he will only get better from experiences like this.”

Portal reserved praise for Ben Swift and the early work he did alongside Danny Pate.

“Swifty did an amazing job all day with Danny. They made sure David and Pete were always in the right position. Swifty was the race captain today and he did a really good job in this role. He was vocal and he’s an intelligent guy so we were pleased with that.

“We will re-focus ready for Liege. We have some fresh legs coming into the team and we are looking forward to it.”

Chris Froome and Richie Porte will both be joining the team for Sunday's final classic in Liege