British debutant Adam Yates has climbed to his third top-ten result at this year’sTour de France on stage 17, the first of four stages in the Alps, today.

The 22-year-old was part of an initial 28-rider group before joining a select handful to chase Simon Geschke (Giant-Alpecin) who escaped in the final 50km and eventually held on for victory.

Feeling the pinch on the penultimate climb, Yates pushed hard on the descent and final climb to the line to hold onto tenth place.

“A very credible ride by Adam today,” sport director Matt White said. “A top ten in another Alpine stage in the Tour is no easy feat.

“We saw a very aggressive start and he found himself in a group of guys that are now in the top ten of general classification with Mathias Frank (IAM Cycling) and Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) moving up considerably.

“He gave it all he could, amongst some very good company.

“He is 22 years of age, in his first Tour de France. To be mixing it again at the tail end of the Tour is a great sign for the future and a great sign for the next couple of days as well.”