Italy's Mattia Cattaneo was the other injured absentee from the Detunink-Quick Step (open in new tab) team after crashing on the downhill of the Giro delle Miglia on Tuesday.

Cattaneo, 29, unfortunately crashed out of the Italian one-day race with about 35km to go. In a press release, his Detunink-Quick Step team said that Cattaneo's vertebral fracture "does not require surgery," but that a "conservative approach" is needed for recovery.

"I've run downhill a few times, so I knew," Cattaneo said from the hospital in Bologna.

"I tried to keep my balance but I couldn't and I hit a guardrail and crashed. I felt like the conditions were getting better and I was confident for the upcoming races."

Belgian WorldTour team riders have suffered a number of crashes since the season resumed after the shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. In the opening stage of the Tour de Pollogne earlier this month, Dutch sprinter Fabio Jacobsen crashed when he hit the finish line barrier.

As a result of these crashes, and a number of other recent accidents, including Bora-Hansgrohe's Max Schachmann being hit by a car driven by a civilian on the course of Il Lombardia over the weekend.