The Tour de Romandie was the final big spring objective for Tejay van Garderen but after the opening prologue, he will have to shelve his GC ambitions. He went down hard in the first corner and even though he has apparently escaped any serious injuries, a time loss of more than 3 minutes means that he is out of the running for the overall win.

BMC Racing Team's Tejay van Garderen crashed in the first moments of Tuesday's prologue at the Tour de Romandie and finished three minutes and 21 seconds down on the winning time. Van Garderen said he did not sense any danger lurking at the start of the 5.57-kilometer race against the clock that was run in dry conditions.

"The bike got away from me in the first corner," he said. "I was coming in a little too hot. I didn't think I was taking big risks, but I guess the corner was a little off-camber and I washed out."

BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa said van Garderen's injuries were being evaluated.

"He has a lot of superficial abrasions: the ankle, the hip, the shoulder and the elbow," Dr. Testa said. "But that is not of concern. The only concern is the contusion on his right hip. So now we are checking, making sure there is nothing broken." 

Interviewed after crossing the finish line, van Garderen said he had some pain in his hip but felt nothing was broken and planned to continue in the six-day race.

"Obviously, GC is not an option any more," he said. "But we still have some good guys here who are motivated for GC. So maybe if the legs come around, I can try something in one of the harder stages."

Silvan Dillier was best for the BMC Racing Team on the day, finishing 59th, 21 seconds behind stage winner Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) was second, four seconds back, and Marcel Kittel (Team Giant-Shimano) was third in the same time. BMC Racing Team's Peter Velits, the Slovakian national time trial champion, was one second slower than Dillier and placed 62nd on the day.

BMC Racing Team Sport Director Yvon Ledanois said van Garderen's crash was the start of a "bad day" for the team.

"I hope nothing is broken," he said. "This was a big objective for him and the team. Now we see what happens for the next race and for this week also, because tomorrow is the first stage and we have a big motivation for everyone."

Wednesday's Stage 1 is a 200.9-km road race from Ascona to Sion that includes two categorized climbs.