Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard withdrew from the Paris-Nice race before the start of Friday's sixth stage after injuring his hand in a fall.
The Visma-Lease a Bike team said that its medical team had decided it was better that the Danish rider recovers at home and focus on upcoming goals.
Vingegaard was second in the standings, 22 seconds behind American teammate Matteo Jorgenson.
The 28-year-old Dane fell during Thursday's fifth stage, tumbling on the Treves climb midway through the stage which finished in the Isere region in southeastern France.
He got back in the saddle with a bleeding lip, before lingering at the back of the peloton all day.
Although Vingegaard made a comeback as the finish approached, he quickly lost ground in the final kilometre, finishing 16th, 26 seconds behind the winner.