Slovenian cycling star Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) will not continue the Tour of the Basque Country after a mass crash in the fourth stage in which he sustained mild injuries and several top contenders for the win were severely injured.

The 34-year-old Slovenian was examined in a hospital to confirm he has no bone fractures, his team announced on 4 April.

The three-time Vuelta winner, Giro winner, and Olympic champion held the leader's jersey in pursuit of his third Basque tour title after winning the opening time trial stage.

He as well as the other leading cyclists, Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark and Remco Evenepoel from Belgium, were caught in a dramatic sequence of events that led to one of the worst mass crashes in recent cycling history.

Several riders, including Roglič, crashed on a fast downhill curve on stage 4 some 35 kilometres before the finish line in Legutiu.

Roglič was limping as he headed to the team car, but he later gave a thumbs-up to photographers following the Bora-Hansgrohe vehicle.

The Slovenian had already badly grazed his hip and upper leg in a crash on stage 3 but could continue, only for another crash to happen less than 24 hours later.