Stuyven suffered a hard crash during Strade Bianche on Saturday. He had a deep cut in his left elbow and the wound had to be cleaned very thoroughly in the hospital in Siena. The young Belgian also suffered from the back and was treated by the team’s osteopath.

Stuyven rode the bike yesterday and today, but the pain is too serious to take the start on Wednesday.

“I don’t feel very miserable, but the pain is considerable, especially after an hour on the TT bike. I don’t want to start a race and risk dropping out after two or three days, completely empty," he said.

"This means I will not be in Dwars door Vlaanderen, which was a personal goal for me, but there’s no other way. I will travel home now, rest and recover and then it’s off to Nokere Koerse and Catalunya. With that week-long race in the legs I should be sufficiently fit for the rest of the classics period.”

Jesse Sergent, who finished third overall on Sunday at the Three Days of West-Flanders, will take Stuyven’s place in the Italian WorldTour race.