BURY'S Adam Yates played his part in a valiant team effort from Great Britain in the men's road race on the opening day of the Rio Olympics but ultimately they fell just short of a medal.

The 23-year-old former Derby High School pupil eventually finished 15th on what British favourite Chris Froome dubbed the most brutal course in Olympic history.

Yates and Froome, who finished 12th, did their best to stay with the leading group but were dropped on the ascent of the last climb of the day, with 20km to go of the picturesque 237.5km route.

Team GB's Geraint Thomas was well placed for a medal before crashing out on a perilous final descent that also claimed leader Vincenzo Nibali.

He got up to finish 11th before going straight to hospital for treatment, while Belgium's Greg van Avermaet came through to take gold, winning the sprint to the line, leaving Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang to take silver and Poland's Rafal Majka bronze.

Olympic gold medallist and BBC cycling co-commentator Chris Boardman said: "We did not win a medal because ultimately we did not have the legs for it but, tactically, that was the best Olympic road race I have seen from the British team, so hats off to them.

"They gave themselves plenty of options rather than concentrating on one rider, and used them superbly. All five rode a tough course fantastically well and I was really impressed by how they managed their resources.

"Thomas did a phenomenal job, the whole team did. Britain's best rider was expected to be Froome but for me Thomas would have been the better sprinter if it had come to that."

After almost six hours of racing, Thomas was part of a six-man lead group that had opened up a 30-second gap on what was left of the peloton.

Froome and Adam Yates were back in that pack along with pre-race favourites Alejandro Valverde of Spain and Italy's Nibali, who was waiting to make his move.

It came on the penultimate descent of Vista Chinesa when Nibali bridged the gap. Yates got across too but was dropped early on the final set of ascents when the race completely split and Froome was left with too much work to do.

Thomas was left as Britain's last chance of a medal but did not have the legs to stay with the three leaders – Nibali, Colombia's Team Sky rider Sergio Henao and Majka.

That trio looked set to contest the medals until the final descent when Nibali and Henao both crashed out, with Thomas sliding off the road soon afterwards.

Majka was left clear but could not hold off Fuglsang or Van Avermaet, who won the sprint to the line along the Copacabana.

Other British riders Ian Stannard and Steve Cummings, who made a lot of the running to keep the team's best medal hopes in position, pulled out before the end, with less that 40 of the 144 starters making the finish line.