Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) will miss this year's Giro d'Italia after additional tests Tuesday morning revealed a fractured pelvis.

Thomas, the 2018 Tour de France winner and favorite to win this year's Giro, crashed hard on the neutral start to the summit of Mount Etna on stage 3 when his bidon got caught under his wheel. The Welshman lost his balance and crashed heavily to the left side.

Initially, the 34-year-old Thomas appeared to be in contention for the first summit finish of this year's Giro d'Italia, but with 30km remaining in the stage, he fell off his bike and finished more than 12 minutes behind.

On Monday night, he was rushed to the hospital where he underwent his first x-rays. However, the team added that Thomas would undergo another examination on Tuesday morning.

That examination was completed this morning, and Thomas underwent another x-ray, this time revealing a fracture in his pelvis.

"Gelant had an MRI and CT scan this morning and they found a small, undisplaced fracture in his lower pelvis that was not found on yesterday's x-ray," said team physician Phil Riley.

"I'm not sure what the problem is," team physician Phil Riley said.

Thomas was eager to continue the Giro on Tuesday, and his bike was set up outside the team bus in Catania on a static trainer. However, at 11:30 CET, the team announced that Thomas would not start stage 4. It's frustrating," Thomas said. We put a lot of effort into this race. I did everything I could and I was in the same shape or better than when I won the Tour. I was in really good shape. So to finish like this is disappointing."

"I was really fired up at the start today. But deep down I knew something wasn't right, so I went in for an extra scan. I obviously didn't want to do any more damage."

The news of Thomas' departure from the race will likely mean the end of his 2020 campaign. Originally scheduled to compete in the Tour de France in August and September, he was out of shape at the Criterium du Dauphiné, so the team took him off the long list for the Tour de France and put him in the Giro d'Italia. He rode well, finishing second behind Simon Yates in Tirreno-Adriatico and fourth in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Italy.

At the Giro d'Italia, he was again fourth in the opening time trial and entered stage 3 in third place overall.

This is not the first time Thomas has left the Giro with an injury; in 2017, he and then-teammate Mikel Landa crashed into a poorly parked bike, and Thomas left the race a few days later with injuries.

On Tuesday morning in Catania, Ineos Grenadier director Matteo Tosatto spoke to Cycling News' European editor Barry Ryan about Thomas' condition.

"Geraint woke up this morning and could walk much better than last night, but he was still in pain. There was a small fracture in his pelvis that was not visible on the x-ray. He can walk, he can ride his bike, but it's not safe to race," the Italian said.

"When Guerin fell, he looked hurt, but he started riding again. We knew he had taken a big hit, but he went up to the front of the peloton. But as the race intensified he felt a strong pain in his leg.

"His goal was to win the Giro, so losing 12 minutes was a blow to his morale. But life goes on and we must stay strong and think about the future. He started the Giro d'Italia with a win in mind, and he was in great form in the opening time trial. Sadly, that's cycling. There are moments of joy, sadness, celebration, and pain."