Nicola Rutzou
Earlier this year, BA caught up with rising Aussie star Lucas Plapp, known to many as Plappy, in a one-on-one chat. He reflected on the Nationals race in Perth and talked candidly about his Olympic ambitions and 2025 goals.
And we’re pleased to report that he achieved one of his 2025 goals on Saturday when he won Stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia.
Talk us through helping Durbo at the Nationals
Until I attacked, we were really trying to shut the race down, and I think all of us believed that Durbo would be able to hold on for the win. I was feeling really strong, but I also knew if I could get away solo and catch him over the top, we’d be able to stay away. As soon as I got to him, I said hold the wheel, and we’ll get you this win. He was double leg cramping, and he was hurting. Once you heard that crowd on that final climb, it took him to the finish. The way the race played out, there was never another option in my head of not trying to help Durbo get that win.
Before I was even professional in 2018 as a junior I went to Girona and he was one of the first people I met. He showed me around and showed me the ropes, and, as a young kid, I always looked up to him, whether it was using his track background or then going to the road or being under-23 time trial champion. I think so much of what he did I wanted to achieve in my life, so I’ve idolised him and looked up to him for so long. Being a part of that victory was so special, and it’s way more memorable than any of the three titles I’ve ever won. My career is still in its early days, but I think that will be something I look back on in 10 years and think that was one of the most special days on the bike.
I’ve only been in the team for just over a year now, but to see how much he’s done for this team over the years and how much he gives back, he sacrifices every race for someone else. And he’s one of the nicest guys in the peloton, so to be able to give him something back and to see how much it meant to him, his wife, his little kid Henry, to be able to share that and see those photos in the future and just the whole WA community.
It was so special to be a part of, and I think that’s the GreenEdge culture. He said it was a life highlight, not just a career highlight, so it was super special to be a part of it.
Is it great being on the Aussie Jayco squad?
Ineos was a fantastic place to start my career. I always aspired to be like Geraint (Thomas) or those guys, coming from a track background and developing into a Grand Tour rider. I have so much to thank for my time there, the coaching, the way they nurtured me into moving into Europe. They also held my hand to help me set up a life in Europe. It was amazing. There were also a lot of Aussie riders in that team, and I was able to turn professional because of Richie Porte. So, to ride his final year with him meant so much to me. It was here in Willunga a few years ago that that became a possibility, so it was super special to be part of that team, and I’m still really, really good mates. Ben Swift taught me almost everything I know in the bunch and I have so much to thank him for, so it was an amazing way to start, and it was super special, and I don’t think I’d be the rider I am now if I hadn’t started my career there.
But the chance to come to Jayco and the team I always aspired to join. I’m such an Aussie at heart, and that’s just who I am and what I want to be. So, to be able to ride for an Australian team, to have Australian staff and Australian riders, and to hopefully get results in the future with an Aussie team is what I want.
That’s so special to me and to repay Gerry for everything he’s done for Australia.
What are your 2025 goals with the team?
Yes, the Nationals and Tour Down Under were massive targets. After the Olympics, I had a massive break, and we had a very, very early off-season to really target TDU and the Aussie summer. That’s something that I obviously always want to target, and having Tour Down Under on my palmarés when I retire is a major goal for me. I lived in Adelaide for six years, so I know where these roads are, and it’s super special to be back here.
We’ll then build from here all the way up until the Giro. That’s the major focus. Again, I loved the Giro last year; it taught me so much, and I’m really looking forward to being able to go back there this year.
It’s a very similar build to the race program last year. We learnt so much from it, and I think it also worked so we can make a few tweaks, but the Giro will be the big focus. It will be very tough with the two beautiful time trials I want to target there, so I’m also looking forward to going over there and reconning them. I’d like to target that top ten in the Giro.
How do you pick yourself up after a crash like you had at the Olympic Games time trial last year?
The Olympics are the reason I ride a bike. It’s the biggest thing in the world for me. It’s what gets me out of bed each morning. So it was heartbreaking to see what happened after all the energy I had put in since Tokyo. That was the focus. But where I got to with the team, where my legs were, and how that race was going was perfect. We didn’t put a foot wrong in the preparation, and in that race, everything was going perfect, and I believe we could have done something special there. And I still look back on last year; the biggest highlight was the Olympics for me, even though it didn’t go as planned. I think what we were able to achieve was special, and I know we could have had that result if the crash hadn’t occurred.
So it gives a lot of confidence in what we were doing as a team and how we built towards that, and if anything, it made me fall in love with the Olympics more than I ever was because you’ve only got one chance every four years. It shows how special it is and how hard it is to get it right. I was in hospital for a few weeks after that, and all I did was look up how many days it was to LA, and again, that’s a massive focus. Come 2028, that’s the big thing. And I think when I finish my career, I also want an Olympic gold medal on my palmarés.
Why did cycling win out against the other sports you enjoyed as a junior?
There was no Olympics for cricket or footy. The Olympics won for me, and I really rated that the hardest; the harder you work in cycling, the results do come out on paper. Cricket and footy are not so much about how hard you train; there are a lot of other factors that come into it, whereas, especially with time trialling, whoever works the hardest on and off the bike will generally get the results, which really appeals to me, but I love my team sports.
If I could do any job in the world, I would probably be Pat Cummins, the Australian cricket captain. I think he’s got the best job in the world and something I’d love to do, but I’ve still got so many mates playing the highest level in footy or cricket and love following that along, and I think that reflects who I am as an Australian. I wake up at 5:00 am in Europe to watch all the games. I was at the Boxing Day test watching the cricket, so it’s something that I still love. I was never good enough at cricket and footy to make it.
Where’s your favourite place to go riding?
Where I live, Bright, in the high country. I think you’ve got just the most amazing little community in Bright, and you’ve got a hundred kilometre valley roads that are dead flat, or you’ve got the only mountains in Australia, and I think they’re the most amazing roads. It’s got one set of traffic lights and in summer the weather’s almost 40 degrees nearly every day. I think it keeps you so grounded. It’s my happy place. I think it’s the secret as to why I don’t train any harder when I’m in Australia, and I think I’m just so much happier when I’m here, and a happy Luke is a really fast Luke. I think that’s why I usually go so well at Nationals and Tour Down Under because I’m back home.
I enjoy being able to switch off. Go for hikes. Mow the lawn. I’ve got cows and sheep now. I really just love it up there. The balance that it provides is in the small community. They don’t know who you are as a person. They’re just your mate. It’s not walking down the street and people wanting to get photos or just knowing you as a friend; you can go to a coffee shop.
Do you think of yourself as a time trial specialist?
I think that ever since I was young, the time trial has been what I’ve been best at and passionate about. It’s really what I’m into, always chasing those little things and doing the research myself. I’m a time trial specialist trying to develop into a Grand Tour rider. I always look at Geraint (Thomas) and try to mimic everything he’s done. The same is true of Wiggo (Bradley Wiggins). They both came from a team pursuit background, the same as mine. They were both time trial specialists who developed into Tour de France winners. I mean, that’s the life goal. That’s a massive goal. Suppose I could be half as good, half as successful as either of them. That’d be amazing.
How are you enjoying Jayco’s new purple colours?
It’s beautiful. It’s so special for me to ride in a MAAP Jersey. MAAP sponsored my first proper NRS team when I was young, and it’s almost full circle now to be back wearing their kit.
The company was founded five minutes from my house, and I know all the guys. I think it’s just so special to have an Australian company with an Australian team. It’s the best-looking kit in the WorldTour.
Image credit: Sirotti.it
