Wout Poels on his 26th Grand Tour: 'For the past 17 years, it was the other way around'

Unibet Rose Rockets came agonisingly close on day three of the Giro d'Italia with Dylan Groenewegen in Sofia, and on Italian soil the team are already making a good impression. Wout Poels — the team's resident climber — held his own impressively in the lead group on stage four, which bodes well for the days and weeks ahead. IDL Pro Cycling caught up with him after the stage.

Poels came home 34th in Cosenza, having been among the best 42 riders on the day's critical climb. Wednesday could — if Jonas Vingegaard and his rivals allow it — be a first chance for riders like Poels who need an uphill finish to launch an attack.

"It's not as if I've circled specific stages," the Limburger explains. "Any time the road goes uphill, you need a bit of luck. I can say I'd love to win on Blockhaus, but those kinds of stages tend to get decided by the GC riders. I just have to pick my moments."

If you'd told Poels in December that he would even be starting the Giro in Bulgaria, he would have thought you were mad. "At that point there was no talk of the Giro at all — I'd basically put that dream to one side," says the man who has already won stages at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, and for whom a Giro stage win would complete the trilogy.

"But then we weren't allowed to do the Tour, which was a shame, and suddenly we could do the Giro instead. For me personally, that was even better — because it's the race where I have that goal I've been chasing. So that worked out rather nicely," says Poels, who did have to explain the situation at home. "The only thing was, I've now been home for three days in two months — that wasn't really the plan this year."

He also rode last year's Giro at XDS Astana, but couldn't make a serious bid for a stage win. "Last year I did the Tour of Turkey beforehand and won that race. I was at a really high level — but after a week and a half of the Giro, the best of my form was already gone and I couldn't force anything anymore. And then it's over."

"This time I've raced a lot less: Milan-San Remo was my last race before this. And this year I've basically only ridden one-day races and one stage race — the Tour de la Provence — whereas for the past 17 years it was the other way around. Maybe that freshness will work in my favour, but then again, it also proves I've been doing it wrong for years," he says with a laugh — always ready with a quip.

Instead of racing, Poels headed to altitude. "I was up at high elevation training with Hartthijs de Vries and got some good work in up there. I always love an altitude camp — it's a great way to build towards a race properly and give everything to it. And it's come together well again this time."

"Normally speaking, yes, this will be my last one," Poels confirms. "Never say never, but I think so. It's already my 26th — a number I keep hearing from the team too. I'm not really dwelling on it: if it's the last one, it's the last one. Maybe that'll feel different in Rome. And I've always genuinely enjoyed Grand Tours."

While Poels is riding his 26th, five of his teammates are making their Grand Tour debut. "For me it all runs on routine now — but for the others, that's obviously not the case. Tomas Kopecky messaged me: have you got any tips on what to pack? I replied: cycling kit is probably a good idea," he laughs.

"That's roughly how I handle it — I'm not the type to tell those guys what they should be doing," he continues. "They just need to let it wash over them. It's a stage race, just three weeks long."