Ineos Grenadiers rider De Plus out of Vuelta after TTT crash on first stage

De Plus crashed during the opening stage in Barcelona on Saturday and scans revealed he had suffered a fractured hip.

"He underwent a range of imaging on an injury sustained to his right hip, which showed a non-displaced fracture," Ineos Grenadiers said in a statement.

"A treatment plan for Laurens is currently being finalised and we look forward to him making a full and speedy recovery."

The absence of Belgian De Plus is a blow to Ineos Grenadiers general classification contender Geraint Thomas (37) as he would have been a domestique in the many mountain stages to come.

Ineos Grenadiers placed eighth in the team time trial, 20 seconds off the pace of stage winners DSM-Firmenich, although other fancied teams also struggled in the conditions with Jumbo Visma - including co-favourites Jonas Vingegaard (26) and Primoz Roglic (33) - only 11th quickest at 32 seconds.