Tadej Pogacar has abandoned the Vuelta a Espana after a nasty crash on stage eight, ending his hopes of winning the only grand tour missing from his collection.
The Slovenian, who was the overwhelming favourite and had won three stages in the opening week, crashed with just over 30km to go. He appeared to swerve suddenly while riding in the peloton and fell hard, with riders falling around him.
He sustained a wound to his left shoulder and face, with blood pouring from above his eye. After getting up unassisted, he shook his head and sat down before being helped into an ambulance and taken to hospital.
It is the first time Pogacar has abandoned a grand tour in 10 attempts. The 27-year-old had won this year's Tour de France in dominant fashion and led the Vuelta by nearly four minutes from Enric Mas before the crash.
Spain's Mas now leads the overall standings by one minute from Slovenia's Primoz Roglic, with Felix Gall third. Britain's Oscar Onley leads the best young rider classification and sits fifth overall.