Image 1 of 4 Robert Gesink feeling the pain of his crash (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 2 of 4 Robert Gesink tries to walk off the crash before abandoning (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 3 of 4 Robert Gesink gets into the team car with his race over (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 4 of 4 Robert Gesink receiving help from his team after crashing (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Robert Gesink could be forced to miss the Tour de France after suffering a head injury in a crash at the Tour de Suisse.

The Dutchman hit a pothole during stage 2 on Sunday and such was the force of his crash, his helmet was broken by the impact and he remembers nothing of the incident. He immediately abandoned the race and was taken to hospital for a medical evaluation.

LottoNL-Jumbo released a statement on Monday morning saying there were no "complications" but that it's uncertain at this stage to say whether Gesink will be able to go to the Tour de France next month as planned.

"The medical staff indicates that he has a head trauma without complications, and several abrasions," read the statement.

"The recovery is assessed day-by-day towards the Tour de France. After a reasonable night's sleep Robert flies back home to recover."

Gesink, who was sixth at last year's Tour de France, had marked out July as one of his major objectives for the season and he was set to double-up with the Vuelta a España, though he did miss out on selection for the Olympic road race in Rio. It was expected that he and Wilco Kelderman, who is now LottoNL-Jumbo's de facto leader at the Tour de Suisse, would share leadership duties at the Tour.

"I actually know actually nothing of the fall," said Gesink of his crash. "I fell on my head and my helmet was broken. I can remember that I started this morning, but otherwise I've lost everything."

One man who does remember is Gesink's teammate Bert-Jan Lindeman, who was riding alongside at the time of the crash.

"There was a hole in the road and he went over it, his hands flew off the handlebars and he fell on his face," explained the Ducthman, who had accompanied Gesink on a recent training camp at altitude.

"This is really sour. We have worked hard over the past few weeks, and this is a shame."