Luke Plap Surprised to be the new leader of the race trip to the uae After the team time trial, sure remco avonpool took down the red jersey and won the stage Soudal—Quick Step.
Still pumped with emotion and adrenaline in what he described as “the best discipline in cycling”, the Australian donned the leader’s jersey after a perfect day of intense riding.
“I didn’t realize I was ahead until they had just announced the result, but it was a close game and you can see me and Remko are at the same time now,” said Plap enthused.
“Team time behind is the best discipline in cycling. The team chase background is a lot of fun and you can put in 10 or 15 minutes more than a team chase. Everyone on the team loves it because everyone is involved It’s planned. It’s the best event in cycling.”
“I love being around these guys, we’ve got a great group and they’re also suitors from the former team, so it’s going really well there.”
Plapp and Ineos Grenadiers finished third, three seconds behind Soudal-QuickStep and EF Education-EasPost. The three-second gap was the same as the time the Australians had gained on the first stage, so the hundreds of seconds recorded in the time trial decided the race leader. Plapp donned the red jersey and will wear it on Stage 3 to the finish at Jebel Jais Hill.
“It was really close, over 18 minutes, and the top five teams were separated by seconds,” he said.
“The team time trial adds a lot of excitement to the stages, but it doesn’t affect the GC either because the times are always so close.”
Plap used his chasing and timing skills to power the Ineos Grenadier quartet and praised his teammates for their efforts on the 17.3km track before and after the desolate edge of Khalifa Port.
Ineos GrenadierThe lineup includes veteran triathlete Cam Wurf and Junior World Time Trial Champion Josh Tarling.
“The 19-year-old is the strongest player on our team. So happy to have Josh on our team. He’s a big boy and he’s going to be the future Filippo Ganner,” praised Plap.
“Cam is very experienced too. He’s been in pro peloton for a long time and he’s really good at the TT bike because he can ride 180km. I think we lost the stage win because we didn’t attack the TTT hard enough .It’s so fast on the way back and you only make up a little profit. We should have worked harder to get out and get an early time.”
Plapp and Ineos Grenadiers will start Stage 3 of the UAE Tour as race leaders, but Evenepoel is wheezing on their necks in the meantime.
With two intermediate time bonuses of three, two and one second on the 185km stage, Jebel Jais could be very crowded, the first time after a stage of just 36km. A second intermediate sprint after 128 km with time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds at the finish line.
The Jebel Jais mountain stage will be a race against the clock.
“It’s fantastic to wear this jersey and as a team we’re in a really good place right now,” said Plap, delighted to wear the World Tour leader’s jersey for the first time in his career.
This is the first leadership jersey of my career and I will keep it for as long as possible.
“I think it’s a hilltop finish where anything can happen. Then hopefully we have a couple of easier sprint days and then a big showdown at Jebel Hafeet. It’s going to unfold over the next couple of days. A massive duel.”
“Remco is definitely the favourite. He’s a top-notch actor – world champion for a reason. It’s important for me to stick with it and see what I can do on the climb. Stage 3 is A really interesting climb. If there’s a tailwind it can be harder and it can split, whereas if there’s a headwind it can stay together. We saw that last year Philip Ganner finished.
“Unless there is more crosswind we can let the sprinters have their fun and then it will be Jebel Hafit showdown. 20 minute test to see who is the best rider. You do your best Yes, I will try to catch Remko.”