Luke Plapp will carry the Australian road champion's jersey as he takes on his first WorldTour race in the UAE Tour, and the 21-year-old's debut year with Ineos Grenadier is all about taking steps that will help his long-term development.

"The great thing about riding for Ineos is that there are already so many winners on the team that they don't ask the younger guys for results," Plapp told Cycling News in Australia ahead of the 2022 season. 'They're going to develop them, learn from them, and turn them into winners. There is always a steep learning curve ahead for new pro riders, and for many Australian riders, the gradient is steep. Domestic races are generally shorter and the peloton smaller. But with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc internationally and domestically, even top-level Australian races have been severely restricted in recent years. Juxtapose that with the fact that Plapp's focus for the Olympics was primarily on track events, and it becomes painfully clear that his first goal was simply to gain race time on the road.

"For me, this whole year is just about learning," he says. I want to do as many race days as I can. I don't know what type of rider I am yet, so I want to try every type of race there is in Europe and see what works for me."

"I want to try almost every type of race and parkour to see which type I fit into. Then the following year I can start specializing in what I think is right for me as a bike rider."

Plapp signed a three-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers on the back of his breakthrough performance in Australia in 2021.

He first won the second stage of the Santos Festival of Cycling, applauding Team Garmin Australia teammate Richie Porte on the Willunga Hill stage. Plapp then went on to win the elite and U23 time trial titles at the Australian Road Championships. 2022 saw Plapp unable to defend this title as he was quarantined as a close contact for COVID-19, but his teammates in the road race Despite being without one, he won the race single-handedly with tact and perfect timing.

At the Santos Festival of Cycling, he raced four days with the national team, and despite a solid rest at the end of 2021, Plapp should be ready for his first international race of the full season with the team.

Last year, Plapp raced internationally for only a few days with the Australian national team and the Ineos Grenadiers after the Tokyo Olympics. However, the UAE Tour, his first attempt at a WorldTour race, will be his first full season of international racing as a professional cyclist.

"After the summer in Austin, the heat suits me. There's a time trial, and I want to show the team and the world what I can do there," said Plapp, who finished second in the U23 time trial at the 2021 Road World Championships.

"I think it's a good first goal for me," Plapp said of the UAE Tour. 'The UAE Tour is a crosswind and you can learn a lot from it. It's early in the season, so you can learn from it and build towards the end of the season and see the gaps that need to be filled. "

"We'll be able to re-evaluate next preseason and hopefully we'll learn a lot from going through this and nail it for the 2023 season.

On the road, Plapp has had some of the best results so far in Australia in solo, climbing, and of course time trials. But there may yet be other strengths to be unearthed. Plapp said that because of the length of his contract, the team is able to support him while he learns step by step and develops into the rider he is meant to be.

At first, he said, "I'm there to help everyone on the team, then I'm there to learn to win. 'Next year it would be great if I could get through two of those years. And then in the second or third year of my contract, I want to be a part of winning."

Plapp said that a successful 2022 season will mean learning what type of rider he is, learning how to compete in the peloton, and feeling at home in Europe again.

"Of course, if I do well in the time trial at the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships will be a big focus for me,"

especially with the homegrown road World Championships in Wollongong in September.

The athlete also spent a lot of time on the track last year wearing the green and gold jersey and competed in the Team Pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics. Teammate Alex Porter crashed during qualifying when his handlebars broke. Teammate Alex Porter broke his handle during qualifying and fell. Although the team eventually won the bronze medal, the team was left with unfinished business.

"First of all, I want to be ready in Europe, focus on the road, establish myself over there, and then get back on the circuit," Plapp said. For us athletes, it's clear that we didn't do as well as we would have liked in Tokyo, and that will always haunt us, and we will always be chasing the gold medal."

"Winning as an individual is something special compared to being able to share it with three of your best friends. So winning in Paris is definitely a dream, and in Los Angeles, I would like to be involved in Madison for the next few years, and Team Pursuit if I can combine it with road. But I think the two go hand in hand, and as we're seeing right now, road pros are getting back on the track and getting great results.