Holmes: I could have done better in Tour

The Madison Genesis rider crossed the finish line seventh in Sunday’s final stage of the Tour, earning a classification of fifth overall.

Finishing 20 seconds behind winner Serge Pauwels overall, Holmes was the fastest Brit on the Tour, but still feels he could have finished higher.

“I wish I’d have done better,” he said after the final stage, which included four tough climbs in the final 20km run between Bradford and Sheffield.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in that situation but if we did this race again next week maybe I’d do better, I don’t know.

“I wasted a lot of energy panicking thinking there would be a crosswind.”

Holmes knew what to expect from the gruelling final stage, where the top four of Pauwels, Omar Fraile, Jonathan Hivert and Brent Bookwalter mirrored the overall classification.

“We’d reccied it so I knew what was coming,” Holmes said.

“It’s pretty straightforward on a climb, you just pedal as hard as you can - it all sorts itself out.”

And despite feeling he could have done better, the 23-year-old ranked the Tour as a career highlight.

“This is the best result, definitely,” he said.

Wiganers Richard Handley (Madison Genesis) and Chris Lawless (Team GB) finished 26th and 72nd in the general classification of 100 riders.