Australian cyclist Rohan Dennis is facing medical tests after being forced to withdraw from the Giro d'Italia during stage four, suffering headaches and nausea in the wake of a crash two days earlier.
Dennis pulled out 78km into the 181km stage won on Mount Etna by Slovenian rider Jan Polanc on Tuesday.
He had crashed in the final 10km of stage three, landing on his side and suffering multiple abrasions and a jarred neck and didn't fully recover on Monday's rest day.
His team BMC Racing said 26-year-old Dennis' injuries became apparent after a fast opening hour of racing.
Team doctor Giovanni Ruffini was hopeful 2015 Tour Down Under winner Dennis would be able to return to training in 10 days.
"After the crash on Sunday, Rohan had a strong headache but yesterday, it seemed that everything was mostly resolved," Ruffini said.
"Last night, he began to experience further headaches and started to feel nauseas. Unfortunately, this morning the feelings hadn't subsided but we made the decision for Rohan to try and make it through today's stage."
"Rohan continued to feel unwell during the stage and consequently made the decision to withdraw.
"We have discussed internally with BMC Racing Team chief medical officer Doctor Max Testa and Rohan will undergo some tests to determine whether there is an underlying issue as a result of the crash."
Dennis was disappointed to withdraw but happy to err on the side of caution.
"It was probably around the hour mark when I spoke to Max Sciandri in the car and I said 'Look I'm going to try and get to the feed zone and I think that might be my limit today but we'll see how it goes there'," he said.
"But I got dropped on the long climb when the peloton was riding easy and Valerio Piva in the second race car just said 'Get in the car, it's not worth it'.
"The wounds aren't an issue. It was the nausea and lethargic, no-energy feeling. My head had been hurting and I was hoping that some exercise would change that feeling but I started to feel worse."
Meanwhile, Polanc produced a remarkable ride after making an early breakaway to win the stage on the summit of Mount Etna.
The UAE Team Emirates rider, who also won a mountain stage in the 2015 race, took a solo victory ahead of Ilnur Zakarin of Russia on the ride from Cefalu with Team Sky's Geraint Thomas in third.
Luxembourg's Bob Jungels replaced Quick-Step teammate Fernando Gaviria as the overall leader and has a six-second advantage over Welshman Thomas.
Fellow Briton Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) is four seconds further back.
The race continues with a 159km stage five from Pedara to Messina.
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