BMC rider Stefan Küng will take no further part in the Grio d'Italia after suffering a fractured vertebrae during a crash on Stage 12.
The 21-year-old sustained a compression fracture of his T9 vertebrae after he was involved in a heavy spill with two members of the CCC Sprandi Polkowice team.
The Swiss rider said: "I did not want to take risks and my sport director, Valerio Piva, said not to take risks. I had a little bit of space from these two guys, but then they crashed in a left-hand corner.
"I tried to avoid them, but they were everywhere on the road. I hit the bike of one of them, went over it and hit my head on the ground. I think that is how my vertebrae was compressed."
BMC's medical officer Dr Max Testa added: "He has no neurological problems and the fracture appears to be stable. He will be kept under observation, then discharged wearing a brace and transferred back to Switzerland for further evaluation and treatment. He will be on bed rest for several days before he can start the rehabilitation process."
Küng is expected to be out of competitive action for between 12 and 16 weeks. The world individual pursuit champion expressed his disappointment at the amount of racing he would miss in his debut season.
He said: "I was in the ambulance and the tears were running down. As a sportsman, you always want to keep going. I was looking forward to the time trial every day. So it is a shame to finish like this.
"When they told me what I have, it is even worse because I know I will not be able to ride my bike for awhile. It is going to take time for me to come back. But for sure, I will come back."