"It's been a long time coming" - Luke Plapp takes the next step with stunning Giro d'Italia stage win

Although he came to the 2025 Giro d'Italia with general classification ambitions that never really materialised, Luke Plapp ensured this will go down as the most successful Grand Tour of his career so far on stage 8 by embarking on a long-range solo to a first ever World Tour win.

Following a massive fight to get in the day's breakaway, Plapp eventually was one of the lucky attackers to build up an advantage. Not content to merely be part of the break however, with around 50km to go, the former Australian national champion dropped his companions on the Montelago climb and managed to hold on all the way to the line for the biggest victory of his career. 

"I still can't believe it, to be honest," Plapp reflected proudly in his post-stage interview afterwards. "I feel like it's been a long time coming – always targeting the Aussie summer, and just never been able to make a result happen in Europe. Last year, got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special."

"We marked it as a stage for a few weeks now, and then this morning on the bus. We're really, really excited to make it happen – it's a dream come true," continued Plapp, explaining his choice to opt for a long-range attack rather simply. "I knew I couldn't beat any of them in a sprint!"

"I think the way the racing has been going this year, the long moves, have been really, really successful. So I just thought I'd give it a crack. And to be honest, just wanted a bit of a head start on the descent as well. To stay away all the way to the finish is definitely not what I expected," concluded the 24-year-old. "The lows in cycling are super, super low, and there's a long time between highs. So to have a result like this is amazing."