Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart climbed to 11th in the general classification on stage four of the Tour de l’Avenir in France.

The 19-year-old finished 12th on the day as a summit finish on the category-one Montee Plateau de Solaison climb blew the race apart on the 165.3km journey from Saint-Vulbas.

Hart now sits one minute and 19 seconds adrift of Colombian race leader Miguel Angel Lopez, who finished third on the stage - 42 seconds behind winner Ilya Davidenok.

Hart was one minute and 57 seconds back from the Kazakhstan rider on the stage.

“Legs not super but content for now with 12th today & 11th overall. Big thanks to @owaindoull for his help in to climb, going like a train,” Hart tweeted after the stage.

“Onwards & upwards, literally, for the rest of the week. Looking like one to remember. See what happens...”

Of the other British riders, Scott Davies ended 23rd, Daniel Pearson 35th, Owain Doull 78th, Jake Kelly 116th and Dan McLay 117th.

Przemyslaw Kasperkiewicz (Poland), Sam Oomen (Netherlands) and Lukas Postlberger (Austria) had held an advantage of over two minutes on the peloton at the foot of the final climb to Solaison.

Kasperkiewicz and Postlberger then dropped back before Davidenok bridged the gap to Oomen inside three kilometres and then left the Dutch rider behind to take the stage.

Behind them the bunch crumbled as the climb, which reached a gradient of 9% in parts, took its toll.

Three more summit finishes await riders on stages five, six and seven with the Tour of the Future ending on Saturday.

Results

Stage four
General classification after stage four