{"id":47431,"date":"2024-07-23T08:38:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T08:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2024\/?p=47431"},"modified":"2024-08-01T07:37:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T07:37:45","slug":"team-talk-luke-plapp-on-his-olympic-dream-inspiring-the-next-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/team-talk-luke-plapp-on-his-olympic-dream-inspiring-the-next-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"TEAM TALK – Luke Plapp on his Olympic dream & inspiring the next generation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nothing captures Luke Plapp<\/strong>\u2019s imagination like the Olympic Games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Paris 2024<\/strong> just around the corner, the 23-year-old Victorian has been confirmed on the Australian road cycling team and he\u2019s got his Qantas boarding pass, an iconic moment for any Aussie Olympian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Games are the reason Plapp got into cycling and remain the fire in his belly as a professional. Now going to his second Olympics, he wants to help inspire the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s why I\u2019m an athlete and it gets me out of bed every day to train,\u201d<\/em> Plapp says. \u201cI had just as much excitement getting the boarding pass and the Aussie polo as I did for Tokyo. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When it happened in Tokyo, it was a dream come true. I had achieved everything I had set out to do as a kid, to become an Olympian.<\/em> I still had the exact same excitement this time around. It\u2019s such an iconic thing getting that Qantas boarding pass and it\u2019s definitely what inspired me. I always dreamed of getting one when I was a kid. In Tokyo, I wasn\u2019t able to be an idol and inspire others because it was my first time. Now, hopefully I can have the same influence on other people and allow them to dream.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: KRAMON<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plapp\u2019s love of the Olympic Games runs deep after watching the competition from a young age. His first introduction to the event came in 2008 with the host location of Beijing providing a rare chance for Aussies to watch on a time zone similar to their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing Australia\u2019s performances in the pool, where they got 20 medals \u2013 including six gold \u2013 had a big impact on a young Plapp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was seven at the time and they were the ones that I remember staying up for and watching. Being Australian, seeing the swimmers \u2013 which was what we’re known for \u2013 winning so many gold medals was what I most remember. That actually made me want to get an Olympic tattoo. I remember every time they used to get out of the water and they had the Olympic rings on their chest. The day after I got back from Tokyo, that’s the first thing I got,”<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full Olympic experience<\/span><\/strong>
The Games in Paris will be Plapp\u2019s second time at the Olympics after making his debut in Tokyo in 2021, where he claimed a bronze medal on the track alongside his GreenEDGE Cycling<\/strong> teammate Kell O\u2019Brien<\/strong> in the team pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the heavy restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it was a fairly muted first Olympics. This time out, Plapp is hoping to get the full experience, from hanging out with fellow athletes in the village to watching other events once he\u2019s completed his own competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a COVID games, we weren’t a part of the village, and it was very much a get in and get out atmosphere. Talking to the team that did go to Rio and other Games, I know we definitely missed out on the full experience in Tokyo,\u201d<\/em> Plapp says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be able to go and support other Aussies and watch their sports, I think that\u2019s what makes the Olympics so special. You hear so many stories about how it\u2019s amazing cheering on other Aussie teammates and seeing them achieve great things. The road events are in the first week of competition, so we\u2019ve got that whole second week. It only happens once every four years and you don\u2019t get to do it many times in your life. I want to make sure I experience it to the fullest.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luke Plapp (second from left) after taking bronze at the Tokyo Olympics (Photo: Sprint Cycling)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before Plapp can think about catching some hockey or a bit of athletics, he\u2019s got his own events to complete. After taking a medal on the boards of the velodrome in Tokyo three years ago, he\u2019s focusing on the time trial and road race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First up will be the TT on the opening Saturday, a discipline he\u2019s poured many hours into in the build-up to Paris with the help of GreenEDGE Cycling\u2019s sport engineering director Marco Pinotti<\/strong>. The work has paid off and putting in two strong TT performances at the Giro d\u2019Italia in May has given Plapp the confidence he needs to go into the Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always struggled with time trials in Europe, one way or another and I was never able to pinpoint exactly what it was,\u201d<\/em> he explains. \u201cTo get the monkey off my back and get a couple of good TTs in Europe gave me a lot of belief moving forward. The team I\u2019ve got in place around me in Australia, and also with the team in Marco Pinotti, we\u2019re doing great things and it gives me a lot of confidence going into time trials now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luke Plapp put in two strong TT rides at the Giro d’Italia (Photo: Sprint Cycling)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A little bit of home<\/span><\/strong>
Plapp is one of six riders representing Australia on the road across the men\u2019s and women\u2019s squads. Five of those six riders are from Victoria, including Liv AlUla Jayco rider Ruby Roseman-Gannon, and he\u2019s grown-up racing alongside many of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super special. From a personal point of view, to have five out of the six of the Australian Olympic team as Victorians and people I grew up with is super special. My coach also coaches Ruby and has had a big influence on the other Victorians, too,\u201d<\/em> says Plapp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canberra native, and Team Jayco AlUla teammate, Michael Matthews will be joining Plapp and co. for the road race. It will be a major chance to go for a medal and \u2018Plappy\u2019 is ready to go all-in for his national and trade teammate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to have Bling. Me and Clarky [Simon Clarke] know Bling super well and also know that on a big stage there\u2019s not many better in the world that can stand up and perform like him,\u201d<\/em> Plapp says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of confidence as well to know that\u2019s our role to help Bling and he\u2019s a proven performer on that stage. I\u2019m looking forward to focusing on my TT, then those guys get in a couple of days afterwards and we\u2019ve got a week of working together and trying to do the ultimate with Bling. One thing that he doesn\u2019t have on his palmar\u00e8s is an Olympic medal. I think he really believes in it and it\u2019s quite special knowing me and Clarky are there to help him achieve that goal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even closer to home for Plapp will be the four fellow Olympians and Paralympians from his high school in Maribyrnong that will be in Paris this summer, something that will make this summer\u2019s games even more memorable. His schoolmates will be competing in the hurdles, taekwondo, table tennis, and swimming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty remarkable for a small school in Maribyrnong in Victoria. It\u2019s cool and I\u2019m really looking forward to going on and supporting them,\u201d<\/em> he says. \u201cI\u2019ve got friends from different codes that I\u2019m going to see. I\u2019m such a sports nut, honestly, and I\u2019ll be cheering on any Aussies but to be able to cheer with people that you went to school with is great and I\u2019m looking forward to trying to organise a school photo in Paris. That would be really special.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing captures Luke Plapp\u2019s imagination like the Olympic Games. With Paris 2024 just around the corner, the 23-year-old Victorian has been confirmed on the Australian road cycling team and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[296,386],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47431"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47442,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47431\/revisions\/47442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}