From "arm flopping around" to top ranking in Burgos: Max Poole is making a comeback... And he might surprise us all in the Vuelta

Things can change quickly, even in cycling! Max Poole was out of action for months after breaking his elbow in a crash during the Tirreno-Adriatico in March. The British climber (dsm-firmenich PostNL) finally made his comeback this week in the Tour of Burgos, and by day three, he showed that he hasn't been idle in preparing for the latter part of 2024.

Poole, who finished fourth in last year's Tour of Romandie, was originally set to make his Giro d'Italia debut in May. However, the 21-year-old Brit crashed hard on his elbow during the sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, while he was sitting in 11th place overall. The crash resulted in a fracture. This incident forced him to abandon his planned races and to focus on the fall season instead.

Before the Tour of Burgos, Poole recounted his crash in Italy via his team’s website. "It was a nasty crash and it was clear at that point that I wasn’t going to make the Giro. It was a nothing moment. I was cruising down this false flat, hit a bump, and lost the bike. I hit some railings and as I lay on the ground the first thing I saw was my arm flopping around. It was a strange moment."

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Poole finishes fourth in Burgos queen stage

Instead of riding the Giro, Poole spent weeks rehabilitating. "There was no sense in rushing back to racing because I wanted to make sure that I still had my arm when I was 50. The first month was pretty tough. The recovery wasn’t going anywhere, and the pain levels were increasing. I was in a bit of a hole for a bit but it started to improve slowly and then we came to the conclusion that we needed to do the surgery again and have the screws removed. It was a long process but the team were good and they gave me the time to get it right so that I could come back in the best way."

This meant Poole only started racing in Burgos after two intense months of training. "It’s hard to know where I am exactly after such a long time so I’m pretty anxious to see where I am at Burgos. Hopefully, the freshness works in my favour, especially mentally. I think that being at home in the UK made it a lot easier but in my head, I feel like I have a point to prove so I’ll try and show that in my racing and see how that goes."

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Poole feeling encouraged ahead of the Vuelta a España

With the Vuelta a España on the horizon, Poole has a great goal ahead. He rode the Tour of Spain last year, putting himself in the spotlight primarily in breakaways. This time, a good general classification in a grand tour seems possible for the first time in his career. "It’s almost like the start of the season again and it’s exciting to get the first race in. After Burgos, it’s time for the Vuelta and hopefully, I can keep improving before then. I’ll keep training for the last week here at camp and then I’ll try and have a decent end to the season."

A fourth place in the third stage of the Tour of Burgos was already a very encouraging sign. He finished just 20 seconds behind Sepp Kuss, Lorenzo Fortunato and Jefferson Cepeda. Poole commented via dsm-firmenich PostNL's official channels: "The team did a super job to rally around me and bring me to the final in the best shape possible to race, which also gave me confidence going into the two final climbs. In the end it was really hard and I tried to ride how I wanted to ride and hang onto the line to give myself a chance to race for something in the time trial on Thursday."

Indeed, Poole goes into the time trial in third place overall, 27 seconds behind Kuss. He also wears the young rider's jersey. Things are looking good as we head towards the Vuelta...