It wasn’t to be for Sir Bradley Wiggins’ bid to win Paris-Roubaix on Sunday but the Team Sky cameras were on hand to bring us a behind-the-scenes look at his final race.

Before the race the Team Sky bus was the place to be for fans young and old who wanted to see the 2012 Tour de France winner for one last time, and Sky’s support staff handed out little placards for them to wave.

Then as Sir Wiggo emerged from the bus the gathered hoards shouted encouragement as he set off for the team presentation. From there it was down to the riders on the road, as Sky bossed the front of the peloton for large parts of the opening stages.

>>> End of an era: How Wiggins and Sky created history

Wiggins’s attack off the front of the peloton was the stuff of his childhood dreams, even if he was reeled back in, but the Brit was pleased with his 18th place finish.

“I said at the start I just wanted a clean run,” he said. “I didn’t have one puncture, one crash and came through it pretty well, so I was pleased with that.”