Tom Pidcock has withdrawn from the Itzulia Basque Country after being taken to hospital following a crash on a practice run ahead of the opening individual time trial.
Britain’s Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was set to be one of the early starters on Stage 1 of the race.
However, he wasn’t able to race after crashing and is now set to head home for recovery.
A statement from Ineos Grenadiers said: “Tom Pidcock has unfortunately been withdrawn from #Itzulia2024 after crashing during a recon of the TT course.
“Following consultation between our team doctor and the race medical team, Tom has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.”
Pidcock explained what had happened in a social media video later in the day.
“I crashed in the recon this morning, the wind took me out in a corner on the circuit and I hit my hip really hard, and it can’t bear weight at all,” he said.
“I’m going home now. I had some scans and they didn’t show anything but we’ll keep looking over the next few days because it doesn’t feel very nice.”
“I made a bit of a mistake at the end, then I corrected it and luckily it was still enough.”
“Everything went well until 200 metres but then I went on the ground, so a bit of a silly moment, my own mistake maybe,” he said.