Claude, who had steadily risen up the leaderboard during the arduous event, was forced to call it a day after a gruelling stage on Saturday took its toll.

Placed in the 80s when she was forced out, Claude outlasted several members of her Canada-Espagne team and husband Paul said it was no mean effort to get as far as she had.

"She finished the mountain stage (Tour Malet) yesterday in last place. Then she had to travel for five hours after the race and did not get to the hotel until midnight,'' he said.

Claude finished one of the stages yesterday but missed the cut by a few minutes and was forced out.

She was far from discouraged by her performance, bearing in mind the calibre of the opposition, said her husband. "Pretty much everyone who is left is either in the Olympics or is attempting to be,'' he added.

Melanie Claude: brave effort.