The Tour Down Under clearly has a special meaning for Luke Plapp. Not only is it his home nation WorldTour race and a home race for his Jayco-AlUla team, but it’s also home to the terrain that rocketed him to the WorldTour.
In 2021 the Australian rode the Santos Festival of Cycling – the replacement race for the Tour Down Under during the two-year COVID-19 pandemic hiatus – and his win on Willunga Hill alongside national squad teammate and mentor Richie Porte made a huge mark.
“To be able to race with Richie up Willunga, that was the stage that got me a WorldTour contract, so hopefully one day I can follow in his footsteps," Plapp said of the two-time Tour Down Under winner and six-time winner of the stage to the top of Willunga in the WorldTour event.
"It's definitely a race that, by the end of my career, I want to have on my palmares and be able to win."
Plapp lines up as a major contenders this year and having targeted his training toward the event. The specific pre-season work has bene done to try and make that 'one day' arrive sooner rather than later.
"I'd love it for it to be this year. If I could clean up Willunga and Richie will be there, it would be a full circle moment," Plapp told Cyclingnews on the eve of the six-stage event, which runs from Tuesday through to Sunday.
"I'm always going to target Willunga, I really want to go well there, so we'll see what comes from. But I'm really looking forward to that."
The finish atop Willunga Hill is always a crucial way to gain precious seconds. Both the time gaps and the ten second time bonus at the top, can be pivotal in the overall battle. We can expect a battle for every second this year, given Willunga comes on stage 5, the last stage where the overall contenders get terrain that suits before Sunday's final circuit stage around Adelaide.
This year the climbers have an edge, with Willunga being one of three stages that have serious potential to open the gaps in the race. In the past the terrain has meant that bonus seconds have been crucial.
"I think it's one of the hardest courses the Tour Down Under’s probably ever seen, which I think is right up my alley," Plapp said, as he contemplated the race ahead while surrounded by pictures of past winners in the lobby of race headquarters, the Hilton Hotel.
As well as the old favourite of Willunga Hill there is the familiar stage 4 to Victor Harbor, with that terrain proving in 2023 that it has potential to make a difference for the overall contenders.
Stage 3 throws up a new challenge and potentially a crucial one for the GC riders. The peloton will crest the unfamiliar Knots Hill – a 2.63km climb with an average gradient of 8%, peaking at 13.4%.
“It's hard, it's really, really hard. I think that's going to be the most decisive stage of the race,” said Plapp.
“I think the lead into that with the descent that goes through Basket Range into that climb, and that climb, I think, is harder than Willunga.”
“I think you can definitely lose the race on that descent and into the climb as well so I'm definitely expecting GC to sort of be played out there. I think the the 10 riders or so that are in the finish of that stage are the ones that are going to be sprinting it out on Willunga for the win, but I think that's where the GC will be set up.”
Plapp, who crashed out of the race last year, showed clear signs of form with his third elite time trial win at the Australian Road National Championships as well as in the road race where he delivered a gracious move to assist teammate Luke Durbridge to the win while he took second.
That means that this year he'll be foregoing his usual green and gold attire on the road but regardless there will be no flying under the radar at this event.
Plapp also has other teammates that could make a mark, with Chris Harper suited to the climbs like Plapp and Swiss champion Mauro Schmid has also done well on the overall in the past, finishing fifth while racing with Soudal-QuickStep.
There will be plenty of rivals keen to stand in the way of Jayco AlUla's attempt to capture the ochre leaders jersey.
The Australian squad last claiming the top step overall in 2019 with Daryl Impey. The South African is now co-sports director for one of those key rivals, the 2024 winner Stevie Williams (Israel Premier-Tech).
The 2023 winner Jay Vine is also back, this time with new teammate Jhonatan Narváez, then there is last year's Willunga winner Oscar Onley (Picnic-Post NL) and Finn Fisher-Black will be looking to make a powerful debut with his new team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in much the same way as his new teammate Sam Welsford did last year.
"Also you can't forget the new neo-pros that you haven't heard of, or it's their first race," said Plapp of the event which is prime territory for breakthrough riders.
"You only have to remember back to Isaac Del Toro last year, who no one knew who he was, and he took the race by the scruff of the neck" he said of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider who claimed a stage and took third overall.
"There's always going to be someone that pops up."
Regardless of who that is "I think the best climber is going to win the Tour Down Under this year," said Plapp.
We will soon find out if that is him.
