HOW THE BRITS FARED

GREAT Britain's Endurance squad made a low-key debut in their first Tour of Majorca. Just one rider, former national champion Julian Winn, completed all five days racing, ending with 26th place overall.

Manager John Herety said the aim was to "stretch the riders without breaking them" in the high-speed event. There were no injuries or crashes, and the nine riders got some serious race miles into their legs.

Despite rarely being seen at the front of the bunch, the Britons' presence was noticed and they earned praise from local journalists for what veteran TV reporter Carlos De Andres told viewers was "a really professional attitude and well-organised approach".

Chris Newton said: "I thought there might have been more of a gruppetto at times, but the speed just shows from the word go that there's no messing around, and contracts are on the line.

"I got a bit of the itch and went off the front for a bit, but it only lasted eight kilometres and that effort sent me to the back for the rest of the day," he continued. "For us it's all performance related, which is not really how I like racing, but to compete at this level you've got to be racing at this level all year round.

"The toughest day was stage four, because it was so fast and that break made it harder, although today [stage five] will be harder, I guess, up and down all the time.

"I definitely prefer this to training for two or three weeks and making the effort alone. It can be a bit awe-inspiring riding next to the big stars, and a bit hard manoeuvring at times, but you know how things are and I'm really pleased. All things considered, we're doing well."