In contention for the win and vying to build on his fifth place last year, Sam Bennett instead crashed heavily inside the final kilometre of the Scheldeprijs one day Classic in Schoten, Belgium, on Wednesday.

The Carrick on Suir rider was involved in a mass pileup and was bought to hospital afterwards.

His team subsequently confirmed that medical examinations showed he hadn’t suffered any fractures but that he would be kept in hospital overnight.

"He is okay, but in pain," said his Bora-Argon18 team director Enrico Poitschke. "He fell on his head and he has whiplash. Even though we are confident that he'll be released shortly, we didn't want to risk anything. That's why we decided that Sam spends the night in the hospital."

Bennett is one of the top young sprinters in the sport and this year won the final stage of the Tour of Qatar. He is due to ride his first Tour de France in July. His team will consequently hope he recovers soon.