Luke Plapp breaks Ineos Grenadiers contract early to join Jayco AlUla
Australian champion signs four-year contract with Australian team
Luke Plapp has joined Jayco AlUla, signing a four-year deal, in a move which has seen him break his Ineos Grenadiers contract early.
The Australian champion is "coming home" to the Australian squad, the announcement early on Tuesday morning said. The man from Melbourne joined Ineos at the beginning of 2022 after a battle between five WorldTour teams for his signature, despite never having ridden a road race outside of a national, continental or world event.
“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," Plapp said. "I just can't wait to get started; the next four years are going to be amazing on this team."
The back-to-back Australian champion is one of the biggest talents to come from his country in recent years, and Jayco clearly sees the 22-year-old as a star for the next decade, with his four year contract. He will likely ride a Grand Tour next year, with his goals also including the Paris Olympics, but he is thought of as one for the future, a possible replacement for Simon Yates, eventually.
In his short professional career to date, Plapp has finished on the podium of the UAE Tour and the Tour of Norway, as well as finishing second in the under-23 individual time trial in the 2021 World Championships. He has various other top tens at WorldTour level, but is without a win other than at the Australian national championships.
He rode the 2022 Vuelta a España, but was restricted to week-long stage races in 2023, a decision which might have contributed to his departing Ineos.
Plapp is not the first big name to leave Ineos this off-season; he follows in the wheel tracks of Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ben Tulett, Pavel Sivakov and Dani Martínez. Tulett is also 22 and thought of as a future GC star, in a similar way to Plapp.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The British team finally announced their first signings for 2024 last month, with AJ August and Óscar Rodríguez joining, and Geraint Thomas among those getting a contract extension.
Jayco AlUla, meanwhile, have signed six riders so far for next year, including young climbers Mauro Schmid, Davide De Pretto and Anders Foldager.
Plapp singled out Jayco AlUla's owner Gerry Ryan for particular praise in his signing announcement.
"I can't thank Gerry Ryan and the team enough for this opportunity," he said. "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."
Brent Copeland, the team's general manager, said that it was "very exciting" to sign Plapp, an "incredible talent".
"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," he said. "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."
In a post on social media, Ineos Grenadiers said: "Following two strong and memorable seasons, Luke Plapp is heading to a new team in the peloton from next year. Always a Grenadier, we’ll see you out there on the road Plappy!"
Read more: All the pro peloton transfers for 2024
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
'One of the boys thinks I’ll be walking about in armour': Mark Cavendish knighted in ceremony at Windsor Castle
Manxman says he was “nervous” after being made a Knight Commander by Prince William
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Opinion: If the UCI Gravel Worlds doesn't have American pros at the front, everyone loses
Many of the United States' best gravel professionals are not going to the UCI Gravel World Championships and that is a problem for the whole discipline of the sport
By Logan Jones-Wilkins Published
-
Remco Evenepoel puts transfer speculation to bed ahead of World Championships road race
'I'll stay where I am' says Double Olympic champion as he confirms he will remain at Soudal Quick-Step next season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Simon Yates says he took a pay cut in order to join Visma-Lease a Bike
32-year-old says it was now or never as he gets set to leave Jayco AIUla after eleven years
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'This one's for my grandma': Michael Matthews rounds off emotional week with third GP Québec victory
Australian’s grandmother passed away the week before he travelled to Canada
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'You can't sugarcoat it' - Luke Rowe says Ineos Grenadiers are 'underperforming'
British squad's experienced road captain believes his team has been "overtaken" by others
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Steve Cummings replaced by Tom Pidcock's coach in Tour of Britain management team shake-up at Ineos Grenadiers
Cummings was on the provisional start list submitted to the race organiser, but was replaced by Kurt Bogaerts
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Dan Bigham becomes Head of Engineering at Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe after leaving Ineos Grenadiers
After winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Bigham then left his role at Ineos due to his frustrations with the setup currently in place at the team
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe confirmed for Tour of Britain Men
Double Olympic champion and Alaphilippe headline Soudal Quick-Step team selection
By Tom Thewlis Published
-