Luke Plapp on dream start with Team Jayco AlUla - "From the gun we had everything under control"
Cycling
After winning the time-trial national championships, Luke Plapp has now won the road race. It is a dream start to his stint with the new team, and it is already his third road race title in a row despite being only 23 years of age.
“The Aussies are back, GreenEDGE is back! That was amazing out there, I think from the gun we had everything under control and me and Harper had a great time out there, I can’t thank him enough," Plapp said in a press release. "We just wanted to be in control the whole time and I think we saw it, we knew we could take control early and once we were out there we always had it in the bag. It was an amazing team effort, from Blake [Quick] at the start, Rudy [Porter] following the moves, then Kell (Kelland O'Brien, ed.), we were never out of it.”
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It was a team attack with 100 kilometers to go on the Mount Buninyong circuit. Some could say a tactical masterpiece, but the truth is that the World Tour outfit had by far the strongest riders on the day, and they also had the depth. Hence, they did not wait long until making big moves to put the competition under pressure. He and Chris Harper attacked the competition and went on to race to a comfortable win, with Plapp being allowed to cross the line in first place. Kelland O'Brien sealed the podium but a whole six minutes away from the leading duo.
“I think from the start we were all on top of it, Plappy and I came across the line one-two and it really was a team effort today," Harper said in a post-race interview. "Everybody played their part. We had numbers and could dictate the race really.Plappy was absolutely flying at the end there, so I had to tell him to ease up a little bit for me, but it’s a great day and a good hit out for us going to Tour Down Under next week as well.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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📮 POST RACE REACTION 💬 "We knew we could take control early and once we were out there we always had it in the bag." - @LucasPlapp 1️⃣st place 🇦🇺 #RoadNats24 Read more ⤵️
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