'It’s been difficult few weeks' – Young British GC hope Max Poole out of Vuelta a España with Epstein-Barr virus

Young British GC hope Max Poole will not ride the Vuelta a España after he was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus and therefore glandular fever, his Picnic PostNL team announced on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old, who finished 11th overall at the Giro d'Italia this year, and 3rd in the young rider's classification, was aiming for success at the Vuelta, but will now spend time off the bike recovering.

Epstein-Barr is the virus that causes mononucleosis (mono), or glandular fever, and notably affected Mark Cavendish in the past.

Poole was hoping to emulate teammate and compatriot Oscar Onley, who finished fourth at the Tour de France last month. However, his team said he didn't "react positively" to training for the Vuelta, and his condition then worsened at the Tour of Poland, which he abandoned after stage five. His season is likely to end early to allow his health to recover.

"It’s been difficult few weeks trying to work out what the situation was and I appreciate the support the team has given me during this period," Poole said in a press release. "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."

The man from Scunthorpe finished on the podium of four Vuelta stages last season, finishing second behind Pablo Castrillo on stage 12.

"Max didn’t come away from altitude feeling as we’d hoped, and when he continued to decline during Poland we removed him from the race on medical grounds to conduct thorough investigations," Picnic PostNL head coach Rudi Kemna said. "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."

"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," the team's doctor, Camiel Aldershof, added. "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."

In Poole's absence, Picnic PostNL have named an eight-man team which includes climbers like Chris Hamilton and Kevin Vermaerke, as well as sprinter Casper van Uden, who won a stage of the Giro this year. Read the confirmed names on the Vuelta start list here.