"I was fourth on GC here, Pogacar doesn’t count": Luke Plapp reborn as a one-week stage race GC contender at Romandie
Cycling
The 2026 season seems to be a turning point in Luke Plapps career. Until now, the Australian was mainly recognized for his time trialing ability and stage hunter skills, however general classification battles seemed out of his scope - as the rider himself admitted on multiple occasions. But the 2026 Plapp has already finished 3rd at UAE Tour, and now 5th at Tour de Romandie - or 4th as he himself doesn't count Tadej Pogacar part of the "humans competition", jokingly.
Plapp broke down a final day where tactics were decisive, forcing the favourites to stay fully focused right to the line. He stressed that while the opening phase was relatively straightforward, tension ramped up as the final ascent to Leysin (13.2 kilometers at 5.9%) approached, triggering a head‑to‑head fight for the top spots in the general classification.
In his own words to CyclingProNet, "the race came down to pure tactics and in the end it turned into a big fight to see who could finish in the top six or seven." Despite the accumulated fatigue, he was buoyed by holding the pace of the best in the bunch, adding that "I’m really happy with the consistency I’ve had all week."
For Plapp, the result is a major boost to his build‑up, especially after already taking a podium at the UAE Tour early in the year, cementing himself as one of Team Jayco AlUla’s most reliable cards for one-week stage races.
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"I was fourth, Pogacar doesn’t count"
Looking ahead, the Australian now targets the Tour de Hongrie - a 2.Pro race where a rider of Plapp's qualities will rank among the main favourites - followed by a race with a whole different level of competition: the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes.
But for now, positive sensations about his top-five from Swiss race prevail as a podium in the "Pogacar-less" classification was not entirely out of Plapp's reach with Jorgen Nordhagen only 24 seconds ahead. "Basically I was fourth on GC here, Pogacar doesn’t count," a nod to the stratospheric level of the sport’s leading stars.

Luke Plapp in 2025
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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