The end result was ultimately what Team Sky came to the Tour de Yorkshire aiming for – overall victory, with a stage win en-route – but it wasn’t the man expected to be on the top step of the podium.

Local hero Ben Swift was supposed to be the rider to watch, keen to make his mark in his home county after missing on selection for last year’s Tour de France Grand Depart.

But having made the race one of his prime goals for the season, cycling’s cruel nature took hold to rob him of the chance of bagging a first overall stage race win since the 2010 Tour de Picardie.

However, Swift’s crash, as Team Sky pressed hard on the front of an ever-decreasing bunch on a slick descent on stage one, opened up the window of opportunity for his team-mates.

Philip Deignan and Lars Petter Nordhaug seized their chance, jumping clear of the peloton in a five-man front group. And, after trading attacks to wear down their opponents, Nordhaug claimed Sky’s 22nd victory of the season on the Scarborough sea front.

Having been in great form in the service of Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas at Paris-Nice, Nordhaug was then granted similarly sterling service from his team-mates for the next two days.

It may not have been success for Swift, but for Britain’s sole WorldTour team, winning on home soil is always a good, and very popular, result.