Sir Bradley Wiggins insists he has no regrets after failing in his bid to record a fairytale victory at the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic in his final race for Team Sky.
The 2012 Tour de France winner is quitting the team to ride for his own 'Wiggins' squad before a return to track cycling ahead of the Rio Olympics next summer.
However, he fell short in his attempt to sign off with a win as Germany's John Degenkolb took victory, with Wiggins finishing 18th.
"I'm happy. I've had a good run, and being a classics rider has been like a new job for me over the last two years - it was a hobby driven by my passion," Wiggins told the Team Sky website.
"Before the race I was trying really hard to not think about this being my last race for Team Sky. So many riders came up to me to wish me good luck and that was really nice.
"All these guys who you've been bashing heads with for years, never spoken to them, and they're coming up to congratulate me on my career. It's hard not to get emotional when that happens, but I got through it okay.
"I said at the start, I just wanted a clean run today, and I got that. I didn't have one puncture, one crash. I came through it pretty well and I was pleased to finish in the top 20."
Wiggins, who has claimed 23 victories during his Team Sky career, did his best, breaking away with 32 kilometres left to shake things up at the head of the peloton, while he also made a late push, but in the end he had to settle for a place down the line.
One of the sport's classic races, the one-day slog did not fail to disappoint, but the drama almost got out of hand at one stage as some of the riders had a lucky escape when a train sped through the tracks they were due to cross.
Some of the field slipped across despite the safety barriers being down, while others were held at the gate before being able to resume.