Max Poole's epic comeback: Back to racing 4 months after elbow fracture!

Poole, who finished fourth in the Tour de Romandie last year, was originally set to make his debut in the Giro d'Italia in May. The 21-year-old Brit fell hard on his elbow during the sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, while he was in eleventh place in the general classification. The crash resulted in a fracture. This put an end to his racing schedule, and Poole had to start preparing for the autumn season.

He will return to competition in the Vuelta a Burgos, partly in hopes of participating in the Vuelta a España later in August. Poole made his grand tour debut in that same race last year, though it resulted in a fairly anonymous 49th place in the GC.

"With the Vuelta a Burgos, we are gearing up for the first of the Spanish races this month," explains coach Callum Ferguson. "The mountain finish in the first stage and the tough time trial in the fourth stage are the two decisive stages for the general classification. We look forward to seeing Max back in action after a long period of absence and will see what he can do on the two key GC days. Meanwhile, we are aiming for stage results, with Pavel Bittner as our sprinter in the two flatter stages."

In the Arctic Race of Norway, which starts one day earlier, dsm-firmenich PostNL will rely on Tobias Lund Andresen, Alex Edmondson, Gijs Leemreize, Kevin Vermaerke and the promising talents Bjoern Koerdt and Mees Vlot.

Max Poole
Pavel Bittner
Chris Hamilton
Julius van den Berg
Martijn Tusveld
Enzo Leijnse
Tim Naberman