Great Britain's Max Poole (Picnic PostNL) has been ruled out of the Vuelta a España, all upcoming racing and training after being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and glandular fever, also known as mononucleosis.
Poole had been set to target the GC at the Spanish Grand Tour after finishing 11th overall at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, but has struggled with his health while preparing for the race.
In a short statement released on Wednesday, Picnic PostNL said that Poole "wasn’t reacting positively to training" and abandoned the recent Tour de Pologne to undergo further investigations, which found he has Epstein-Barr virus.
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The Epstein-Barr virus can be a long-term underlying issue, but it also causes acute cases of glandular fever – or mono – which is what Poole is suffering from.
“We’ve been looking into the possible reasons for Max’s health problems over the past few weeks, and today we confirmed that he has Epstein-Barr virus with glandular fever," Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof said.
"Sadly, this means he’ll need a longer period of rest while we work on getting him back to full health. Now we know what’s behind his symptoms, we can start moving in the right direction with his recovery."
With the 22-year-old on an upwards GC trajectory this year, it is disappointing for him to miss the final Grand Tour of the season, and miss the chance to repeat the kind of heroics his teammate Oscar Onley displayed at the Tour de France, finishing fourth.
“It’s been a difficult few weeks trying to work out what the situation was and I appreciate the support the team has given me during this period," he said.
"I’m pretty relieved to now understand the root of the problem as it means that I can start to focus on recovery and getting my health back on track. I’m really disappointed to miss the team at the Vuelta, and wish them the best of luck there.”
Even before the diagnosis was confirmed, Poole's preparation for the Vuelta had been difficult.
"Max didn’t come away from altitude feeling as we’d hoped," Picnic head coach Rudi Kemna explained. "Now that we know the full extent of his illness, our focus is simply on looking after him and giving him the time and support he needs to recover fully.”
At present, Poole is out for an undefined period of time, and it is possible that he will not return to racing this season, with riders often taking extended breaks to recover from EBC.
Mark Cavendish is one rider who notably suffered with EBV, derailing his 2017 season and carrying the virus for several months.
Picnic PostNL confirmed their Vuelta line-up soon after revealing Poole's absence, with a mainly young squad set to chase stage results without their planned GC leader.
Starting for the Dutch outfit in Turin on Saturday, August 23 will be: Patrick Eddy, Chris Hamilton, Bjorn Koerdt, Gijs Leemreize, Juan Martinez, Timo Roosen, Casper van Uden and Kevin Vermaerke.
