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Luke Plapp doesn’t need too much of an introduction these days. The man from Melbourne may only be twenty-three years old, but he’s already got five elite National Titles to his name. His journey has taken him to the Olympics in Tokyo, the Ineos Grenadiers, but now he calls the Aussie Jayco-AlUla team home.

Sync x Luke

We started working with Luke the same year that Sync came into existence, back in 2018. At the time, Plappy was a young up-and-coming talent in Australian cycling. One of the first projects we ever worked on together was preparing his Giant Trinity for the Junior World TT Championships in Innsbruck.

It was 2nd place at Junior Worlds for the seventeen-year-old. A Belgian called Remco took gold, whatever happened to him?

Luke has used every version and every iteration of our Sync ecosystems. From our first prototype arm cup wedges, our AB01 and our the early prototypes of AB02. Our very first 3D-printed Tri extensions were designed around Luke, a product that evolved into our AB03 ecosystem.

Training

How do you prepare for a time-trial?

An individual time-trial is decided by Watts/CdA. There are two sides to the equation: the athlete and aerodynamics.

Luke has 48 race days in his legs going into the Paris Olympic Games. He did the double at the start of the year taking the Aussie National Championships in both the road race and time-trial. From there, it was to Paris-Nice, the traditional season opener for a GC rider. A 6th place overall was one of his best GC performances to date.

A quick trip to Switzerland for the Tour de Romandie under his belt, the Giro d’Italia was rapidly approaching, the second Grand Tour of his career.

Speaking after taking the young rider’s jersey on Stage 7 of the Giro, Plappy talked through his goals for the Giro.

“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."

A fifth place in the Stage 14 TT, and a fifth place after 120km in the breakaway on Stage 19. His first Giro went in the books with a big green tick.

From the Giro, it was back home to Australia for a training block. The Tour of Austria was his final race check, before mixing his time between Girona and Andorra for the lead into the Games.

Lots of hours on the TT bike, lots of hours spent motor pacing. The prep is done, it’s time to go to Paris.

For the other side of the equation…

The Equipment

With his move to Jayco-AlUla at the start of 2024, Luke moved back onto the bike he knew as a junior: the Giant Trinity.

Giant Trinity

There’s little we can say here yet, but it’s the worst kept secret in cycling: there’s a new Giant Trinity in town. While Luke’s frameset is ‘off the shelf’ there are more than a few upgrades to his package.

Aerobar Four

Our most ambitious project to date, Aerobar Four is custom developed in CAD, based on CFD analysis and an understanding of the beneficial flow mechanisms for the athlete. The final design is 3D printed in titanium, allowing for a fully customised time trial cockpit to the exact stack that Plappy requires.

Driveline Ecosystem

The newest product line at Sync, Plappy rides with the Driveline Ecosystem. Born out of a goal for efficiency, this ecosystem is all about maximising driveline performance through delivering the correct gear for the work performed, while maintaining a straight chainline. Luke has options between 60t and 68t at his disposal.

The chain is kept safe with our direct mount chainguide and of course, no driveline is complete without pulley wheels and a waxed chain.

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You’ll next see Luke racing in the Olympics in Paris. While it’s his second Games, it’s his first one targeting the Individual Time Trial. Here at Sync, it’ll be a proud moment when we see him don the green-and-gold at the biggest sporting event in the world.