He had been one of the favourites to win the oldest of cycling's five 'Monuments'.

Had he done so, he would have become only the third man in history to win all three of the so-called Ardennes classics in the same season.

The race was eventually won by home rider Remco Evenepoel, who defended his title from 2022, with England's Tom Pidcock 2nd and Santiago Buitrago of Colombia in 3rd place.

Earlier in the day, the women's race was won by Dutch star Demi Vollering who, like Pogačar, has dominated the Ardennes classics, winning all of three of them this year.

This is the first time that Pogačar, the 2021 champion, has had to abandon a race due to an accident since he joined the UAE Emirates team.