Plapp is back! Giro hope gives Jayco-AlUla nice victory in Greece: "Season started with a setback"

Luke Plapp won the second stage of the Tour of Hellas. The Australian from Jayco-AlUla beat Astana's Martin Lopez in a wet uphill stage. Plapp is now also the new leader in the five-day Greek cycling race.

The Tour of Hellas in Greece, which had a surprisingly strong field this year, was a sprint on day 1. Matteo Moschetti defeated Dylan Groenewegen, a scenario that was no longer relevant on day 2. We finished uphill in Arachova after a 20-kilometer climb. A short stretch of plateau broke up the first 10 and last 9 kilometers.

The first 150 kilometers of the 178-kilometer stage were hilly or flat. There were two third-category climbs in the opening phase, but we had to wait a long time for the final climb. XDS-Astana opened the race and even had a crash uphill. It showed how fast the pace was and that the rain had made the Greek road extremely slippery.

After the short descent halfway up the climb, Plapp attacked in the last kilometer. Lopez reacted, and the two came together in the last two kilometers. Would they work together? Let's go then! Plapp eventually beat the Colombian. A fine victory for the 24-year-old climber and time trialist, who had been out recently due to a wrist injury sustained during his Australian campaign. He seems to have recovered in time for the Giro d'Italia in May.  

Plapp 'over the moon' after victory: 'Means a lot to me'

Afterward, Plapp was more than satisfied with his victory. "This win means a lot to me," the Australian said on the team's website. "The season started with a setback, which put me out of racing for a while. To take this win straight away in the first race after my comeback gives me a very good feeling and a lot of motivation for the rest of the Tour of Hellas and the other races ahead."

On Thursday, Plapp saw his team play perfectly in the rain."We played the game perfectly as a team today. In the first part, while the break had a gap of a few minutes, we kept control every time. We knew this stage was all about the final climb. Luckily, my legs were still good enough to push out a firm sprint at the end," said the winner, who took an important step towards overall victory in the Tour of Hellas with this success

Results stage 2 Tour of Hellas 2025

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