Luke Plapp had a predictive knack for his own remarkable mission, but not for Ganna: "Told him he had it in the bag"

Luke Plapp was right beside the hotseat during the Giro d'Italia time trial on Friday, a notable figure not for his performance but for his support. The Australian of Team Jayco-AlUla didn't come close to winning himself but stayed close to Filippo Ganna, a good friend of his from his time at INEOS Grenadiers. However, it's unclear if Ganna appreciated Plapp's commentary in front of the TV cameras.

"I love Filippo, he's been a huge help to me over the years," Plapp said afterwards, smiling in the mixed zone. "We get along well, so I felt bad for him. I wanted to see him win, but Tadej (Pogacar, ed.) was outstanding. Pippo was nervous before Pogacar started the climb, thinking it might not be enough. I reassured him that he had it in the bag, but Tadej's performance was unbelievable. He's really in a league of his own."

Plapp gets what he spent many months training for

Plapp's foresight was spot on when it came to his own goals. The day after joining the breakaway in the sixth stage, he managed the seventh-fastest time in the time trial. This pushed him up to fifth place overall, but more crucially, he took over the young rider's white jersey from Cian Uijtdebroeks of Visma | Lease a Bike thanks to an advantage of eight seconds.

That jersey had been a target for Plapp for some time. "This is a fantastic reward for my time trial. My goal for this Giro was to stay in the rankings during the first week and then grab the white jersey in the time trial. It worked out perfectly, so everything that comes next feels like a nice bonus. In my preparations leading up to the Giro, I never thought beyond this time trial. I wanted to get the first week right. This is everything I dreamed of, so I’m going to enjoy it. Of course, I’ll keep giving my all in this Giro, but whatever comes after this will feel like a bonus."

Plapp could have possibly been in an even more secure position when it came to the white jersey on Friday, but he feels that his exertions in the previous day's breakaway affected him. "I wasn't feeling sharp, but I wasn't feeling terrible either. That's likely a consequence of pushing hard for four hours on Thursday. I lacked the sharpness to elevate my performance when it was needed, but I didn't completely falter either. I could have done a better time trial if I had my punchy legs. But in the end, it wasn’t bad, though not spectacular either. The jersey makes up for everything."