Jen's podium hope comes up just short

Coming into the final kilometre, with World Champion road racer Lizzie Armistead having been caught, George surfed the wheels looking for the fastest wheel to latch onto.

And although she momentarily latched onto the back wheel of eventual winner – Hitec Products Kirsten Wild – the more experienced rider had just too much power for Jen to be able to come passed her and so had to settle for seventh place overall - the team’s best finish of the season.

“That was our best result of the season” explained team manager Tom Varney after the race – “At the start I was confident a top ten finish was possible.

“I couldn’t have asked more for our girls and they did exactly what I asked them to do at the start.

“I don’t think Jen should be surprised with her result, to me I don’t think she realises exactly how good a rider she is.”

The Madison Genesis pairing of Tom Stewart and Matt Holmes clinched top 20 overall placings after a final day’s epic racing on Sunday brought the men’s 3-stage race to a dramatic finish.

With Team Sky forcing the pace at the front with 80kms to go and with riders being buffeted by fierce, gusting cross winds, carnage ensued but each time it looked like the World Tour riders would power away from the UK based riders, the Madison Genesis pairing kept digging deeper and deeper into their reserves to stay with the leading group that was whittled down to around 20 riders.

The final two climbs of the day proved to be decisive and as the race surge up the Cote de Oliver’s Mount with just 6kms to the finish, the pace of race winner Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) and Team Sky’s Nicolas Roche proved to be too hot for the chasers and the Madison Genesis boys had to give way to the leading pair.

Dave Povall, Madison Genesis director, said: “Over the course of the three days we’ve shown we have some young, promising riders taking opportunities and contesting for results and the race itself.”