Aug 27 (Reuters) - Ineos Grenadiers rider Laurens de Plus failed to start the second stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday after sustaining an injury in a rain-hit team time trial. De Plus crashed during the opening stage in Barcelona on Saturday and scans revealed he had suffered a fractured hip. "He underwent a range of imaging on an injury sustained to his right hip, which showed a non-displaced fracture," Ineos Grenadiers said in a statement. "A treatment plan for Laurens is currently being finalised and we look forward to him making a full and speedy recovery." The absence of Belgian De Plus is a blow to Ineos Grenadiers general classification contender Geraint Thomas as he would have been a domestique in the many mountain stages to come.

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Persons: Laurens de, Ineos, Laurens, Geraint Thomas, Jumbo Visma, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz, Martyn Herman, Ed Osmond Organizations: Ineos Grenadiers, Belgian, Thomson Locations: Barcelona