"We don’t know what to expect anymore in cycling" - Luke Plapp open to all scenarios ahead of first big challenge in Paris-Nice lead

Team Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp had his first day in the yellow jersey today at Paris-Nice, enjoying a calmer day. Big days lay ahead for the Australian rider who may become the race's biggest surprise.

“It was nice. The sun was out, and the French roads were beautiful today, I really enjoyed it. It was a super-fast and frantic finish trying to catch the breakaway. It was a beautiful day and I really like being in yellow. Today was a nice recovery day after a hard effort yesterday," Plapp said in a press release issued by the team. In fact, a day where he spent a lot of time in the tail of the peloton - even in the final kilometers. An interesting strategy, from a rider who was not expecting to find himself in this position.

Having spent as less energy as possible today, he will hope to enter stage 6 fresher than the competition. A day that will be hard with a lot of wind and a steep climb close to the finish where attacks are expected in the fight for the overall classification. "I think tomorrow is going to be hard but we don’t really know what to expect," he admits.

"Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of guys that want to make up time on the GC, too. We don’t know what to expect anymore in cycling and we’ll be ready for anything tomorrow," he concludes.