"He just didn’t have the legs for it" - Disappointment for DSM as Max Poole drops out of GC contention in first real test of 2024 Vuelta a Espana

Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL headed to the 2024 Vuelta a Espana backing 21-year-old Brit Max Poole to mount a first Grand Tour general classification challenge of his career. Just four stages into the race however, those hopes may already be ended.

On the brutal and vicious summit finish on stage 4 atop Pico Villuercas, Poole was distanced relatively early on by his rivals and eventually crossed the line in a disappointing 47th place, 3:43 down on the eventual stage winner Primoz Roglic, leaving the recent Vuelta a Burgos 2024 runner-up already more than four minutes down in the general classification.

“It was another tough and hot day at the Vuelta," begins Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL coach Phil West's post-stage reflections in conversation with the team's official website. "This was really the first test for Max with the hard uphill final after his crash the other day on stage two. We started well and had good protection around him. Even after the hard start and first few climbs we were still there as a team. We positioned Max going into the climb and he was there in the first part of the peloton. In the end, he just didn’t have the legs for it today, perhaps still suffering from the crash but also that combined with the super hard racing that we saw."

Nevertheless, with more than two weeks still to go at this edition of the Vuelta a Espana, whilst it's unlikely Poole will achieve any GC success, the Brit doesn't have to give up all hope of a positive Grand Tour just yet. "It’s always interesting what happens on a day like this but it’s a long race so we will stay positive, control what we can control, go forward to the next stages and get stuck into it,” explains West in conclusion.