Lucas ‘Luke’ Plapp, more commonly known as Plappy is a cyclist who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2020 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program and the fifth cyclist to be selected. Plappy has been paired with Libby Trickett OAM as his Mentor.
Luke was born in Brunswick, Victoria, in 2000 and started cycling at age 12 so that he could join his dad on morning coffee rides and keep fit for cricket and football seasons. He initially attended a sports high school on a cricket scholarship, and now competes in track and road cycling.
Luke dreams of wearing the coveted rainbow jersey as a world champion cyclist, and he took his first steps towards this goal when winning the Individual Time Trial at the U19 National Road Championships in 2017, before winning the same event at the Oceania Championships. He then enjoyed similar success on the track, winning gold in the Team Pursuit, Scratch Race and Madison at the U19 National Championships.
Continued domestic success earned Luke selection in the Australian team for the World Junior Track Championships in Switzerland in 2018, and he won gold medals in the Points Race and the Madison. Still in fine form, he won silver in the Individual Time Trail at the World Road Race Championships in Austria as a junior later that year.
Since moving into the Elite ranks, Luke has progressed to win Gold in the National Elite Men’s’ Individual Pursuit, Team Pursuit and Bronze in the Points Race. He is now part of the Australian Cycling Team preparing for World Cup events in New Zealand as part of preparation for Tokyo 2020.
“The opportunity to have a close relationship with a sporting icon such as Libby, who has reached the highest level in her sport, is a dream come true. Having a ‘sounding board’ to share her insights into coping with the highs and lows and to learn from some of Libby’s life lessons is going to be invaluable. At this time of my sporting journey, this opportunity will inspire me to further my sporting and career ambitions and I am exceptionally grateful.” – Plappy on being selected.
Honours & Achievements
- 2018: UCI World Madison Champion
- 2018: UCI World Points Race Champion
- 2018: UCI World Time Trial, Silver
- 2018: Oceania Time Trial Champion
- 2019: World Cup Elite Teams Pursuit, bronze
- 2020 (2021): Tokyo Olympic Games – Track Team Pursuit, bronze
- 2022: Elite Men’s National Champion
Mentor Libby Trickett OAM said: “What an enormous privilege it is to work with a talented athlete such as Luke. I’m looking forward to helping him in anyway that I can to support his career and get him closer to reaching his goals in the coming years.”
“It is a tremendous honour for Luke to be just one of five young athletes in the country selected into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program. It provides a great opportunity for Luke to learn from one of the very best athletes in Libby Trickett, and we wish him all the best.” Steve Drake, Cycling Australia CEO on Luke’s selection.
Bio picture credit Cycling Australia
