Luke Plapp signs four-year 'coming home' deal with Jayco AlUla

Australian rider leaves Ineos Grenadiers a year before his contract was due to expire

05:59, Tuesday 7th November 2023

Daniel Benson

Editor in Chief

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Luke Plapp has signed a four-year deal with Jayco AlUla

Australian rider Luke Plapp has signed a long-term deal with Jayco AlUla that will tie him to the team for the next four years.

Plapp, as reported by GCN in September, had a contract with Ineos Grenadiers for 2024, but had the deal nullified by mutual consent before agreeing terms with Jayco AlUla.

Plapp joined Ineos Grenadiers at the start of 2022 after a stellar period as a junior and U23 rider. He becomes Jayco AlUla’s final signing for 2024, with the Australian team set to compete with 30 riders next season.

“It honestly does feel like I'm coming home, I'm such a proud Australian and to now be able to ride for the Australian team, it's a real honour. I just can't wait to get started; the next four years are going to be amazing on this team,” Plapp said in a statement released by Jayco AlUla.

The two-time national road race champion enjoyed a strong WorldTour season in 2022, picking up a number of top-10s and third in the mixed relay at the UCI World Championships. He also made his Grand Tour debut in the Vuelta a España. This year has been somewhat more subdued in terms of results, with the Australian missing out on Grand Tour selection at Ineos. Despite that, Jayco AlUla have recognised a huge amount of untapped potential in the rider and see him as a future star.

In the team's press release the 22-year-old paid tribute to team owner Gerry Ryan, and praised his future teammates.

“I can't thank Gerry Ryan and the team enough for this opportunity. Gerry has done so much for Australian cycling and to now be on his team and to be able to ride for him, it makes me really proud and super grateful. I can't wait to achieve great things together. It is such a great group of guys and I know so many of them already so I'm really looking forward to kicking things off well in my first race with the team,” he said.

Plapp’s 2024 programme has yet to be defined but it’s likely that he will race a Grand Tour next season, with the Giro d’Italia possibly on the cards as he builds up towards the Olympics Games in Paris - should he be selected.

“There’s no mistaking that Luke has incredible talent, so for us to be welcoming him to our team with a four-year contract is very exciting for everybody involved,” said Jayco AlUla general manager Brent Copeland.

“We have to thank Gerry Ryan for his commitment to making this signing a reality, as well our partners AlUla and Giant for their support. Luke is still a very young rider; we are motivated to work with him and have him grow with us as a team into the future. With our strengthened climbing group for the coming season, Luke will have a good support team around him, and we are looking forward to seeing him challenge for general classification success and continue to aim for top results in time trials. As an Australian team, we are already very much looking forward to the national championships in January and seeing if he can defend his road race title for a third year running,” Copeland added.

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