Gold medals for Durbridge and Plapp at Aussie National Championships!

Monday, January 13, 2025

Riders from Team Jayco AlUla kicked off the 2025 season with road and time trial victories at the Australian National Championships.

Whether it was against the clock or in the bunch, Team Jayco AlUla took top honors at the Aussie national championships, with Luke Plapp playing a starring role in both races.

Riding aboard a next-generation Trinity and new CADEX Aero WheelSystem (both soon to be released), Plapp took a third national time-trial title. Three days later, he followed that up in the road race by bridging up to soloing teammate Luke Durbridge, delivering him to victory. The win came as redemption for Durbridge, who missed the final corner during the time trial championship while in contention for the podium.

"It was looking pretty dire straits and [Plapp] is a true champion," Durbridge told SBS. "I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't come across. He gave that to me and I can't thank him enough. Both quads had gone, my back had gone as well, quite a long time ago. Plappy said, 'Look mate, you just hold the wheel and it's yours.'"

Plapp finished a handful of seconds behind Durbridge for a one-two finish, both placings taken aboard a Propel Advanced SL equipped with a CADEX 50 Ultra Disc WheelSystem.

Durbridge's dream scenario

Durbridge was the first rider to attack on the opening lap as he made an early move with less than 10km of the 177km course completed. The 33-year old was initially joined by one other rider, Paris Olympics track gold medallist Conor Leahy (CCache), but with 80km remaining he found himself alone at the head of the race. Behind in the chasing bunch, Team Jayco AlUla were marshalling the counter attacks with Michael Hepburn, Luke Plapp, Kell O’Brien and Chris Harper all working hard to shut down moves.

As the laps ticked by, the time gap to Durbridge continued to come down, and as the final lap approached, Plapp made his move. The defending champion accelerated clear of the pursuers and quickly across to his teammate as the bell rang out for the final lap, meaning just 13.6km remained. After a mammoth day alone and off the front, Durbridge was unable to provide much assistance to Plapp, but the pair managed to hold their advantage despite a series of attempts to close them down from behind.

The pair entered the finishing straight with over a minute advantage. As the finish line came into view, spectators could only wonder which Team Jayco AlUla rider would spend the 2025 season wearing the green-and-gold jersey of Aussie national champion. Would Plapp make it an historic fourth nationals win in a row, or would the day belong to the local favorite? In the end it was Durbridge crossing the line first to lead home a special one-two for Team Jayco AlUla, with the duo crowning a stunning week of racing in Western Australia.

The victory came 12 years after Durbridge first won the elite men's road race national title in Ballarat. It's his sixth Australian title, including the four he has won in the individual time trial.

"That was amazing,” Durbridge said. “I just want to say thanks to the whole team. What they did behind me, not just Plappy, everyone behind was just blocking all day which allowed me to just do my ride.

"I laid it out there pretty early,” he continued. “I was maybe a bit too ambitious, but that’s the way I race. When Plappy came past he said, ‘hold the wheel’ and he gave it to me. He’s a gentleman and I really appreciate that. I will never forget that.”

Plapp was full of praise for his senior teammate. "That was all Durbo's," he said. "He's been amazing to Australian cycling for so many years. It's, I think, 12 years since he last won this jersey and he's been there for everyone else in those last 12 years. To have the national champs in his backyard, I knew how much it meant to him, especially after that unfortune in the TT. He came out here today to prove a point. There's not a dry eye here and everyone's happy for Durbo."

Plapp takes a third national TT title

A new course in Perth couldn’t stop Luke Plapp from powering to his third Australian time trial championship title in five years.

The defending champion, Plapp set the fastest time through each of the intermediate splits over the 38.4km course, usually around 20 seconds. Despite the time gap to rival Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) shrinking as the finish line approached, Plapp had more than enough in the tank to bring home the title, winning by eight seconds. In his first major time trial since crashing out of the Olympic Games last year, Plapp averaged 50kph to record a winning time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds.

"I went out pretty hard. I wanted to make sure I was in the race early," Plapp said. "It's been a while since a good TT, especially since after the Games, so I wanted to get out early and get ahead of the race. I knew it would be better for my head if I was ahead of the race, and then it was just a matter of holding on. I was super stoked to get it done in the end."

The 24-year-old Plapp was joined on the podium by O’Brien, who took a strong third-place finish, while Harper and Hepburn made it four Team Jayco AlUla riders in the top five places, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Source:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/global/news/gold-medals-for-durbridge-and-plapp-at-aussie-national-championships/29419