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Luke Plapp of Jayco Alula won stage eight of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday with a formidable solo effort on the 197km ride from Giulianova to Castelraimondo while Diego Ulissi became the first Italian in four years to take the pink jersey.
After nearly 20 riders formed a breakaway group with 100 km to go, Plapp attacked the Montelago climb and the Australian did not look back as he rode to victory by a handsome margin to claim his first Grand Tour stage win.
Plapp was so far ahead that there was no chaser in sight, but the 24-year-old still looked cautiously over his shoulder on the final stretch to the finish, hands on head in disbelief as he crossed the line.
“It’s pretty crazy, I still can’t believe it, to be honest. I feel like it’s been a long time coming,” Plapp said. “Last year I got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special.”
Wilco Kelderman of Visma-Lease a Bike finished second while XDS-Astana’s Ulissi came in third, with both riders finishing 38 seconds behind Plapp.
But Ulissi’s effort was enough for him to take the overall leader’s pink jersey from Primoz Roglic, with the Italian screaming in delight when he was told the maglia rosa was his.
Ulissi will be the first Italian to wear the pink jersey since Alessandro De Marchi in 2021, ending an 86-stage drought. He leads his teammate Lorenzo Fortunato by 12 seconds while Roglic is 17 seconds behind.
Earlier, Plapp had attacked with 45km to go, kicking into a high gear to leave the field behind and riding solo to the top on the Montelago climb.
Plapp stayed in the lead after taking maximum points in the fight for the blue jersey and he had a minute’s lead on the chasers while the peloton was more than six minutes behind with about 20km to go.
The Australian showed no signs of slowing down as he also conquered the Gagliole climb and remained over five minutes ahead of the peloton on the descent.
“I knew I couldn’t beat any of them in a sprint, so I knew I had to go at some stage pretty early. I think the way the racing’s been going this year, the long moves have been really, really successful,” Plapp added.
“The first one to make a move, I think, always has an advantage. I just thought I’d give it a crack. And to be honest, I just wanted a bit of a head start on the descent as well.”
