A Breakaway Victory in the Apennines

Former Brunswick Cycling Club rider, and hometown favourite Luke Plapp has claimed a sensational solo victory on Stage 8 of the Giro d’Italia, attacking with 46km to go and holding off a world-class chase group to take his first Grand Tour stage win. 

Plapp’s ride was textbook execution launching from a 20-rider break, climbing solo over Montelago, and time trialling his way through the final 20km to win by a decisive 38 seconds. The result marks a powerful return after a tough run of injuries, and a massive fall in the time trial earlier in the Giro, which slashed his chances of competing for the general classification. 

"I was trying to go as hard as possible without going over the limit. And to be honest, my wrist is going to be giving me trouble for a long, long time to come. I have to tape it up every training ride and race and it's still quite sore. It was funny, I was even getting some warnings from the race commissaires for not holding onto the bars properly, but I couldn't do that because of the pain in my wrist.”