"We're keeping all options open": Picnic PostNL DS reveals that Max Poole could return to racing sooner than we think

When both Max Poole and Oscar Onley stepped forwards as talented GC leaders, it seemed as though Team Picnic PostNL have struck gold. The two young Brits - both graduates of Picnic's development structure - seemed well on the way to grow into future podium contenders at Grand Tours. And yet, halfway 2026 the Dutch team has no GC leader altogether.

The story of Onley's buy-out by INEOS Grenadiers is well-known. Onley has gotten off to a decent start at Volta ao Algarve with 4th overall. And even though his season was derailed a bit at Paris-Nice, he's still doing uncomparably better in the new colours than Poole who was left behind at Picnic.

The 23-year-old Poole ended his 2025 season early due Epstein-Barr virus he had contracted after his 11th place at Giro d'Italia (to where he already arrived from a half-baked preparation because of an injury), and now he's only added six race-days in Portugal way back in February.

Why has Poole not raced since those Portuguese events? "I'm not a doctor, but it's simply a virus he picked up in the aftermath of last year's Epstein-Barr," sports director Phil West tells IDLProCycling. "He's training again and back on the bike, but we don't want to rush him."

Poole therefore did not start the Tour of the Alps, and is also absent from the Tour of Turkey - the fallback plan. For now, the Brit is not listed for the Giro d'Italia either, even though West made it clear that a final decision regarding Giro participation has not been made yet.

"We're keeping all options open, as we do with all riders under medical supervision. We need to take the right steps at the right time."

Nevertheless, the Giro in May looks like an unrealistic target for a rider who hasn't raced since February. "I have to be honest and say I'm not really focused on when Max can race any more. We get general updates showing that his training is going well. But when we take the next step, I don't know. Maybe it will be sooner than we think - but we need to be careful."

"If you push one step too far, you could see a repeat of what happened last season. And then it will take even longer," says West, who is trying to keep a level head. "As a professional, you have to deal with these things. Max has come back from setbacks before."

There are no signs of a mental dip from the British climbing talent, it seems. "You'd rather do without it, but it's part of the game. He's a solid lad from the north of England - he still looks good. Oscar Onley is a great example, because we went through a whole journey with him too - broken collarbones, momentum that was missing for a long time. But once you get that back, great things can happen."

West ventures, very cautiously, to put a positive spin on it: "This sport is so demanding that it costs enormous amounts of energy when you're deep in it. When you step away for a while, the advantage is that you're not burning through that energy. You can come back calmly and train well, and come out of it fresher. That always gives you something - even if racing is obviously preferable."

"These days you don't necessarily need race kilometres. Training well and being in good condition is far more important," the Australian adds. "Max has already shown what he can do as a team leader. We saw that at last year's Giro and at the 2024 Vuelta. If he can get a proper run of fitness, we still think he's capable of great things."

Without Poole, Picnic would enter the Giro without a clear plan, hoping for an unlikey stage win. Were Poole to really miss the Giro, we may see him take up the Tour de France instead, looking to repeat Oscar Onley's 4th place from last year.