Luke Plapp on the offensive but let's go opportunity at Tour Down Under: "Narváez is one of the fastest men in this race"

Luke Plapp showed great form in the Australian national championships and today he set the Tour Down Under on fire. He attacked the main climb of the day, but this move didn't succeed as he was followed by a rider he knew he couldn't work with.

“It was a good effort. I know the climb well, after quite a few explorations. I really wanted to go for it today, but I was followed by Jhonatan Narváez," Plapp said in a post-race interview. “Narváez is one of the fastest men in this race. I know that in a sprint I always have to acknowledge my superiors. I had to cancel my attack attempt, also because Caleb [Ewan] was still in the chasing group. We had already discussed it beforehand: I would not take Jhonathan or Corbin Strong to the finish. Then it was important to keep our legs still.”

The move came inside the final 10 kilometers and contained two of the strongest in the race, who pulled off from the peloton in a searing long attack. Plapp made the split happen, but decided not to go through with it, as he acknowledged he was riding with a superior adversary. “I continued riding for a while, but eventually saw quite quickly that it wouldn't work. Jhonatan is a great rider who has also managed to collect quite a few bonus seconds. He will certainly compete for the final victory.”

With Simon Yates also unable to follow, it wasn't the ideal scenario for the Australian team, who also saw Caleb Ewan fail to sprint for a top place in the chasing peloton that just missed out on catching Isaac del Toro. “The fact that I rode so well uphill gives me a good feeling. I see it as a very good sign heading into Saturday and Sunday's stages. We are confident," the Aussie champion concluded.