Tom Pidcock taken to hospital following crash at Tour de l'Avenir

Tom Pidcock has been taken to hospital after crashing in the final kilometre of stage six of the Tour de l'Avenir in France.

The British rider was in a leading group of 15 on a wet stage from Saint-Julien-Chapteuil to Privas in the U23 race, but crashed and injured himself in the last kilometre as Switzerland's Stefan Bissegger went on to win the stage. His injuries are yet to be confirmed.

Pidcock was in a strong position in the race in which he was targetting the overall, sitting at 1-06 in ninth place ahead of Tuesday's stage. With four tough mountain stages to come, the 20-year-old was Great Britain's best chance at an overall success. Giovanni Aleotti (Italy) now leads the general classification ahead of a rest day on Wednesday.

The British team have had a mixed race so far, with the highs of two victories from Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright on stages three and four respectively countered by Hayter abandoning after crashing and breaking his collarbone on stage four.

Pidcock's abandonment after his crash now sees just Fred Wright, Jim Brown, Robert Scott and Stuart Balfour remaining in the GB team.