"It's not necessarily going to happen at 25 – or 22 like it has for some guys" - Luke Plapp takes inspiration from age-defying Geraint Thomas in quest for GC success

Entering his 4th full season at World Tour level in 2025, Luke Plapp is ready to really make his mark in the coming year. Turning 24 on Christmas day though, time is very much on the Aussie's side, something he's well aware of, despite his big ambitions.

"I still haven't won a race in Europe so that'd be a nice little goal for next year at least," the three-time Australian national champion says in quotes collected by Cycling News. "I've got a couple of top fives, top 10s in one week World Tour races already, so I'd like to keep ticking them off but I think a top 10 [overall] in a Grand Tour is the next big goal. And if that happens next year, then the next year you try to go better than that."

As mentioned though, the patient Plapp is aware that time is on his side for these ambitions, with the Aussie taking inspiration from former INEOS Grenadiers teammate Geraint Thomas. The Welsh former Tour de France winner finished on the podium at the Giro d'Italia for the second successive year in 2024 aged 38. "It's a matter of knowing it's not necessarily going to happen at 25 – or 22 like it has for some of these guys – and knowing that it could take me some time, and that's fine," says Plapp. "It's just ticking it along and trying to progress."

Despite some scary crashes during the season, Plapp did seem to progress in 2024, his first season since leaving INEOS for Team Jayco AlUla. "On paper, it doesn't look like I've developed that much but I mean, at the Giro, I was right up there for ten days in the white jersey, and up there on GC, and then I got sick," assesses. "And then again, the Olympics, I was right up there and then crashed. Paris-Nice was the only race where the results were there on paper but I really feel physically my body changed, and we're only a couple of good bits of luck away from an amazing year."