'I want to try and do the GC at the Giro' - Max Poole ready to fill Picnic-PostNL's Grand Tour void after Oscar Onley's transfer to Ineos

Picnic-PostNL are hoping Max Poole can step up and fill the gap left by Oscar Onley's transfer to Ineos Grenadiers, with the 22-year-old Briton keen to finally prove his Grand Tour talents at the 2026 Giro d'Italia.

Onley had a nearly perfect summer in 2025, finishing third at the Tour de Suisse and fourth overall at the Tour de France. His results sparked interest from a number of teams, with Ineos Grenadiers eventually raising their offer to a reported €6 million, enough to convince Picnic-PostNL to let him leave.

Poole and Onley turned professional with the Dutch team in 2023, having previously raced together in the development team. Poole has lost a friend and a teammate but is personally ambitious enough to see an opportunity in the void left at Picnic-PostNL following Onley's move to Ineos. He appears to be happy at Picnic-PostNL and has a contract until the end of 2027.

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"Obviously, it's a shame to lose Oscar, but he's also my friend, and I'm happy for him. It's a move he wanted, and he deserved it," Poole told Cyclingnews when we visited the team at their Calpe training camp.

"There's always a silver lining, and hopefully we can see some good performances from certain guys at Picnic-PostNL, who maybe wouldn't have the opportunities with Oscar still being here."

Poole is just six months younger than Onley. He is far taller than the Scot but has proven his stage race talents during his three years at the WorldTour level.

He made his Grand Tour debut at the 2023 Vuelta a España, was seventh overall at the 2024 UAE Tour, and then recovered from a nasty crash at Tirreno-Adriatico to take second at the Vuelta a Burgos, just five seconds behind winner Sepp Kuss.

He again finished the Vuelta in 2024 and used his fitness to win the Tour de Langkawi. He went in the break five times during the 2024 Vuelta and finished on the podium four times in the second half of the race.

Just when his career was expected to take off in 2025, Poole endured a difficult winter and a contrasting season. He fractured his collarbone at Strade Bianche but fought on to ride the Giro d'Italia, finishing 11th overall.

Context is important and explains far more than results on a website.

"I think it was kind of a weird season. It was not really the most straightforward year," Poole explained.

"I had some family stuff at the start of the year, then obviously my collarbone break at Strade Bianche really impacted the preparation for the Giro. It made the timeline so tight, just to make the Giro was already touch and go, so then to be in good shape for the Giro was almost impossible."

In 2025, I was just always chasing and chasing my form. I had a really bad crash at Tirreno-Adriatico in 2024, too, so the last two years have not been the best."

Poole's 2025 season ended early, at the Tour de Pologne in early August, when he was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr syndrome. He rested completely rather than rushing his return and is confident he has recovered.

His test rides on the Cole de Rates in Spain indicate he is back to his best and he is hoping for a "clean run" in 2026. He and Picnic-PostNL have planned a stage race campaign for the spring before he targets the Giro d'Italia.

"It's about stage racing and keeping the risk as low as possible," Poole said, revealing he will make his season debut at the Volta ao Algarve in February and also take aim at Paris-Nice.

'I want to try and do the GC at the 2026 Giro'

The Epstein-Barr virus gave Poole time to reflect on 2025 and his future goals. The 2025 Giro d'Italia confirmed that he has the potential talent to be a Grand Tour rider.

"I feel good, I'm doing well," Poole said of his winter. "I just did absolutely nothing when I had the virus, but now it's going well.

"I had a lot of time off due to the virus, so I could look back over my career. I think there's a lot more that I can get out of myself with help from the team. I think if we just do everything right and have a good run with no problems, then we can have a good year."

There is no reason why Poole can't enjoy the Grand Tour career acceleration that Onley did in 2024 and 2025.

"I want to try and do the GC at the 2026 Giro," he confirmed. "I think it worked last year. I was 11th overall, even with a couple of shockers," he explained, providing the vital context.

"I had a puncture on the Strade Bianche stage and lost five minutes. Then on stage 19, I cracked and lost a lot of time. It was a pity because I bounced back and was the second-best GC rider over the Colle delle Finestre on stage 20.

"I think I was at 85% after my fractured collarbone and disrupted Giro build-up. So there's a lot to clean up and improve on."

Poole is quietly spoken but clearly ambitious and believes in his Grand Tour abilities. With Onley moving to Ineos, Poole is the leader and protected rider at PicNic-PostNL, the team hoping he will perform well and score vital UCI ranking points.

"In reality, I was good enough for perhaps fifth in the Giro, and that was with bad preparation," Poole said, using his 2025 Giro as a guide to his expectations.

"This year, I hope to have a clean run, not chase anything and not have to worry about trying to cram in my training and build-up.

"There's definitely a lot more I can get out of myself, and obviously, I'll take responsibility for that. I'll also push the team around me and challenge them to also step up. It's about just keeping myself healthy and having a good one."