Ireland's Dan Martin was taken to hospital after crashing out of the Vuelta a Espana after a big crash on stage eight of the race that saw American Tejay van Garderen sustain a possible collarbone fracture.

Van Garderen, who also abandoned the Tour de France last month because of illness, fell off his bike with some 50 kilometres left along with other riders including Martin who had been third overall before the stage and also abandoned.

“BMC Racing Team’s (Tejay van Garderen) has withdrawn (injuries from a crash),” BMC Racing wrote on their Twitter feed.

“We can confirm that Dan Martin has withdrawn from La Vuelta following a crash. Has been taken to the hospital,” Martin’s Cannondale-Garmin team said on Twitter.

Leading French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni also hit the deck and pulled out, his Cofidis team said.

Belgian Kris Boeckmans, who was also involved in the crash, was taken to hospital but was conscious, his Lotto-Soudal team said.

Jasper Stuyven of Belgium claimed the biggest victory of his career when the Trek Factory Racing won the stage.

Spain's Pello Bilbao (Caja Rural) took second place ahead of Frenchman Kevin Reza (FDJ) in a sprint finish after 182.5 km between Puebla de Don Fabrique and Murcia.

Colombian Esteban Chaves of Orica-GreenEDGE retained the overall leader's red jersey, fighting his way back into the main pack after being caught on the wrong end of a split following the big pile-up.

Pre-race favourite Chris Froome of Britain finished with the top guns, despite being briefly dropped during a descent, the day after losing half a minute to his main rivals.

Nicolas Roche finished 10th on the stage and moves up to third position in the overall standings, taking Martin's spot.