Latest news with #LukePlapp
Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Giro d'Italia: Diego Ulissi takes Pink Jersey from Primoz Roglic
The four-year wait for an Italian owner of the Pink Jersey is over. Diego Ulissi will wear the Maglia Rosa for the ninth stage after taking it from Primoz Roglic, while the new leader's team-mate and compatriot, Lorenzo Fortunato, is now in second place and continues as King of the Mountains. Ulissi, 35, named in honour of his father's hero, Diego Maradona, won the first of his eight Giro d'Italia stages in 2011. His career-best grand tour result, 17th in the general classification of his home race, came in 2021. Ulissi was as far down as 30th after stage seven here but thrust himself into first place between Giulianova and Castelraimondo and is the first home cyclist to wear pink in the race since Alessandro de Marchi in 2021. Roglic and Mads Pedersen had shared ownership of the Pink Jersey thus far, in two stints apiece. Luke Plapp, who is on a comeback from surgery on a lingering wrist injury this year, took a maiden grand tour stage win. The 24-year-old Australian made a solo attack with just over 40km remaining as he knew he wouldn't come out on top in a sprint and to his surprise he took the day by 38 seconds from Wilco Kelderman and Ulissi. 'The way the racing's been going this year, long moves have been really successful, so that was sort of in the back of my mind: the first one to make a move has an advantage,' Plapp said. 'I wanted a head start on the descent as well. To stay away until the finish was definitely not what I expected. 'Jeez, that was unbelievable, the fight to get into the breakaway. It just kept going and going; there was one point when I was following Wout [van Aert] so many times I almost dropped myself, then gave it one more chance. It was all worth it in the end. 'It's pretty crazy, I still can't believe it, to be honest. I feel like it's been a long time coming. Last year I got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special.' Roglic came home in 12th, 4min 50sec behind Plapp, and the Slovenian remains only 17sec behind Ulissi in the general classification, with Juan Ayuso a further 3sec down. 'It was a hard day, and in the end we had to let the jersey go,' Roglic said. 'The guys were super strong, we did our best. Sometimes you lose the jersey, but still quite some days to go, no?'
The Advertiser
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Carapaz special at Giro after Aussie breakway bid fails
Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 percent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz stole the show in familiar fashion, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champ Carapaz's victory has reminded everyone that the man who was winning his first Giro stage since taking the overall race victory in 2019 is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. The 31-year-old Carapaz hadn't won in 308 days, since victory in last year's Tour de France last year. "It's been a long time," he said. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Another Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Eurosport: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP. " Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 percent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz stole the show in familiar fashion, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champ Carapaz's victory has reminded everyone that the man who was winning his first Giro stage since taking the overall race victory in 2019 is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. The 31-year-old Carapaz hadn't won in 308 days, since victory in last year's Tour de France last year. "It's been a long time," he said. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Another Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Eurosport: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP. " Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 percent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz stole the show in familiar fashion, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champ Carapaz's victory has reminded everyone that the man who was winning his first Giro stage since taking the overall race victory in 2019 is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. The 31-year-old Carapaz hadn't won in 308 days, since victory in last year's Tour de France last year. "It's been a long time," he said. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Another Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Eurosport: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP. " Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 percent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz stole the show in familiar fashion, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champ Carapaz's victory has reminded everyone that the man who was winning his first Giro stage since taking the overall race victory in 2019 is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. The 31-year-old Carapaz hadn't won in 308 days, since victory in last year's Tour de France last year. "It's been a long time," he said. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Another Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Eurosport: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP. "
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Richard Carapaz wins stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia, update on Jai Hindley injury
Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 per cent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz familiarly stole the show, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champion Carapaz's victory reminded everyone that he is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion, who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Euros-port: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP." AAP
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Carapaz special at Giro after Aussie breakway bid fails
Luke Plapp's bid in a breakaway to earn his second win at the Giro d'Italia has fallen short as former champion Richard Carapaz announced himself as a contender for the 2025 crown with a terrific late burst to capture the stage 11 honours. Australian time trial champ Plapp, still on a high after his terrific solo victory on Saturday's eighth stage, was this time at the heart of Wednesday's five-man breakaway that looked set to contest the stage win after battling across the fiendish Alpe San Pellegrino climb with gradients of around 20 percent. That was before points leader Mads Pedersen shook the sleeping peloton into life, leading a riveting pursuit and enabling them to catch the quintet on the final slopes of the third arduous climb of the challenging 186km route, from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti. Then the Ecuadorian grand tour thoroughbred Carapaz stole the show in familiar fashion, powering away over the last nine kilometres after an explosive surge to take a solo victory by 10 seconds from the race leader Isaac del Toro, who won a sprint to the line for second to pad out his overall advantage with bonus seconds. The young Mexican del Toro is now 31 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Ayuso at the head of the general classification. The rest of the main GC contenders came home safely, with Primoz Roglic fifth, 1:24 behind, and top Australian hope Michael Storer 14th at 3:20 down. But former Olympic champ Carapaz's victory has reminded everyone that the man who was winning his first Giro stage since taking the overall race victory in 2019 is still a real threat at just 1:56 behind in sixth place. The 31-year-old Carapaz hadn't won in 308 days, since victory in last year's Tour de France last year. "It's been a long time," he said. "So this is very, very special for me, and extremely exciting as well, great work. "And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son. It's his birthday today." There was good news about the recovery of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion who was forced to abandon after a crash on stage six. Another Aussie cycling great Robbie McEwen reported on Eurosport: "Jai had a light concussion, but he's feeling okay. "He told me his injury is to a transverse process (one of the bony projections by the side of a vertebra) and he's got a very sore back, but he hopes to be back on the horse ASAP. "
News.com.au
18-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Celebrate the good old Aussie way': Luke Plapp claims emotional Giro d'Italia stage win after epic solo escape
An emotional Luke Plapp celebrated 'the good old Aussie way' with a couple of glasses of vino after his heroic solo win on Stage 8 of the gruelling three-week Giro d'Italia. Plapp won his first Grand Tour stage in spectacular fashion, attacking his three breakaway companions 700m from the top of the Montelago climb, and a remarkable 45km from the finish of the hilly stage. The three-time Australian time trial champion finished 38 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman and Diego Ulissi, to become the second Aussie stage winner at this year's Giro after Kaden Groves' wild sprint win last week. The 24-year-old Jayco Alula rider put his hands on his helmet in disbelief as he crossed the line first in his third Grand Tour. The emotional Melburnian said he had been struggling since his sixth place finish in January's Tour Down Under in Adelaide, where he rode with a wrist injury. 'There's been a lot of lows,' he said after crossing the finish line. 'Whether it's at the Olympics, or at the Tour Down Under, and having surgery on my wrist. 'There's been a lot of lows, and not many highs in between. 'There's been no confidence. 'At the Tour Down Under I was feeling really amazing and was confident for that race, trying to win the overall. 'Since then there hasn't been much confidence at all. 'Even today, I was feeling good, but I was almost getting dropped at stages before the break went there. 'To come good and make it is so, so special.' Plapp dedicated the win to his mate, fellow Aussie cyclist Jai Hindley, who was concussed and suffered a fractured vertebrae in a horror crash on Stage 6. 'You see with Jai, who's a close friend, who's trained so much this year and spent so much time at altitude, just for it all to be taken away in the click of a finger,' he said. 'Cycling's such a crazy sport, you've gotta make the most of the highs when you can, because in a click of the fingers it can be taken away.' Plapp's attention now turns to protecting team leader Chris Harper, before a rest day and a 28.6km time trial to start week two. But first, a true Aussie celebration of his stage win. 'There's a big stage tomorrow to look after Harper but I know me and my roommate Michael Hepburn are going to have a few wines tonight,' he said, showing off the magnum bottle of sparkling he received on the podium. 'I'll take this bottle of vino back and we'll enjoy it the good old Aussie way.'
