"He was making a sandwich and eating it and only then did he continue!" - Wout Poels describes Geraint Thomas' bike change in critical Monte Lussari time trial

Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana stage wins accompanied by several note-worthy results and impressive performances - many would expect Wout Poels to speak of such season in superlatives, yet that's not the case. As whole Bahrain - Victorious still mourns the loss of Gino Mäder, Poels himself speaks of 'a very average season' in the In Koers podcast.

"It's definitely still fresh. I certainly think about it a lot. We will also wear it on our shirt again. It went so quickly, suddenly we were at the Tour again, everything just keeps going. That's unreal." In an emotional Tour, Poels won the stage to Mont Blanc. "After the Pello Bilbao victory, I also wanted to win for Gino," concluded Poels

At Giro d'Italia, Poels saw his old teammate Geraint Thomas on his way to the overall victory, until he lost pink to Primoz Roglic in the final time trial. "I really hoped that G would win. I was surprised at the slow bike change. He was making a sandwich and eating it and only then did he continue!"

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Poels already knows his goals for 2024. The 36-year-old Dutchman will be hunting for a Giro stage victory: "That completes the list. But I would perhaps rather win a Tour stage. Or yes, actually both. I'm definitely not going to the Tour. We're going all out for the Giro first."