Melbourne’s Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) has dismissed the possibility of a Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza in his home nation of Australia, citing logistical issues and a lack of interest as reasons why “it’s going to be very hard to ever happen”.
Reports have emerged in recent days that a Giro start down under could be on the cards, ignited by information obtained and shared by Australian broadcaster Michael Tomalaris and fuelled by race director Mauro Vegni’s non-denial of the possibility.
However, Jayco AlUla pro Plapp has little faith in the viability of such a far-flung foreign start.
“I’ve seen it, it’s impossible,” the Australian put it succinctly when speaking to Cyclingnews ahead of stage 6 of the Giro.
“I’d love to race in Australia, it would be awesome to have family and friends there, but I’m not reading into it too much. I think it’s going to be very hard to ever happen.”
Whilst details of any potential existing bid from the Australian authorities are sparse, Michael Tomalaris expanded on his report to Sporza and suggested that a start in Western Australia could be possible. Perth, the capital city, is only six hours ahead of Rome, and a shorter flight back to Europe.
“Western Australia is the only place you could physically have it to be able to get riders somewhat into Italy a day later,” Plapp agreed, but suggested issues other than the logistics could still be barriers.
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“One, I don’t think the money from Australia is probably worth going there, I don’t think it’s going to attract crowds like you see in Italy, they’re not going to be as special.”
Moreover, Plapp, who is a seasoned traveller between Australia and Europe, pointed to the issue of jetlag, saying it usually takes him “at least a week” to get over the disruption to his rhythm.
Sleep and recovery are already precious to Grand Tour riders, and Plapp went as far as suggesting that asking riders to race after long travel between time zones could be dangerous.
“You can’t finish a stage on a Monday and get all the riders to Italy the next day and think there’s not going to be jet lag or that it’s not going to be dangerous riding in the bunch. I think people are going to be pretty smashed,” he said.
“I think logistically it doesn’t work. If you’re going to change it and have a double rest day, for sure you can get there on time, but then jet lag is still going to be a thing.”
Direct flights from Perth to Rome take 16 hours, longer with a stopover, so any start in Australia would likely require an additional travel day to the one already afforded for foreign starts, so as many as four non-racing days during the three-week race.
“It’s just not going to make sense unless they have a drastic change in how you programme the Giro. It’s not going to be a one-day rest day, that’s for sure,” Plapp said before hypothesising about the realities of the travel arrangements.
“You’d have to start a stage pretty early in the morning, get everybody on a flight by about 4pm, then you’d get to Italy 24, 36 hours later and to be kitting up the next day, it’s not going to happen. If they want to have a double rest day or something, for sure you could make it happen, but to have that much jet lag in the peloton whilst racing, I can’t see it happening very easily.
As well as pointing out the logistical issues, Plapp questioned the need for the Giro to visit Australia. The country already hosts the WorldTour-level Tour Down Under, which frequently attracts big names, as well as the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and potentially the Herald Sun Tour, which is due to return in 2026.
Though there isn’t a big international race in Western Australia, Plapp said fans have what they need.
“To be honest, the greatest race on the programme is already in Australia with Tour Down Under, we don’t need to put another race there,” he said. “We’ll just get Pogi [Tadej Pogačar] and Jonas [Vingegaard] and the boys to come Down Under, it’s going to be bigger than if the Giro started there.
“I think the Australian fans get around Down Under, and the vibe that Adelaide offers more than anything else. We don’t need anything else, just make Down Under as big and as good as it already is. That’s what’s embedded in the Aussie calendar at the moment, and it’s massive.”
