Overall runner-up Primoz Roglic crashed badly while in a sprint for stage victory in the Vuelta on the 16th stage.
Shortly before the finish line, the Slovenian, who started the day 1.34 behind overall leader Remco Evenepoel, pulled away and brought four other cyclists with him.
He was in the lead towards the finish in Tomares after 189 km in Spain around and was passed.
Got help to cross the finish line
As he rolled to get into a new position to sprint, he caught the handlebars of Fred Wright and crashed badly with his clothes scraped and blood white, just 50 meters from the finish line.
He was helped by a stable mate in Jumbo Visma to laboriously cross the finish line.
Then a shattered Roglic, chasing his fourth straight overall victory, sat devastated and recovered.
"Had ambitious plans"
Today he came to the decision that he is now forced to break the Spanish major competition.
"You had ambitious plans for the last days, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be," writes his stable Jumbo-Visma on Twitter.
The team does not write what kind of damage Rolgic has sustained, but that his departure is a consequence of yesterday's crash.