Plucky Plapp clinches second in UAE

Luke Plapp capped off a superb week of racing by holding on to secure second place overall at the UAE Tour.

 

The Australian champion dug deep on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet, finishing sixth on the queen stage with an inch perfect ride which saw him retain his GC position by a single second.

 

Stage winner Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) attacked with six kilometres to go, forcing Plapp to quickly settle into his own rhythm. In the end he was able to finish on the wheel of his closest rival Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), and that was enough to ensure a first WorldTour podium finish.

 

Second on the stage was also enough for Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step – AlphaVinyl) to wrap up the overall title, 59 seconds ahead of Plapp.

 

The foundations for the podium were laid in the race’s opening days, with a crucial effort to ride across a widening gap in the crosswinds on Monday ensuring Plapp made the lead group and put key seconds into his GC rivals. Also key were the five bonus seconds he picked up on the way, along with Tuesday’s impressive team time trial performance from the Grenadiers.