Luke Plapp successfully defends elite time trial national championship crown

Luke Plapp has won his third career time trial national title on a dramatic second day of the 2025 AusCycling Road National Championships in Perth, Western Australia.

In a battle of favourites, Plapp beat a fast-finishing Jay Vine by eight seconds in the 38.4-kilometre men's race around Bold Park.

Plapp had led at every intermediate split by around 20 seconds, but a concerted push by Vine in the last of four laps narrowed the margin.

Plapp averaged 50kph to record a winning time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds.

Luke Plapp has won his third elite men's time trial national title. (Picture: Chris Auld)

Today's event was his first major time trial since crashing out of the Olympic Games last year.

"I went out pretty hard. I wanted to make sure I was in the race early," Plapp said.

"It's been a while since a good TT, especially since after the Games, so I wanted to get out early and get ahead of the race. I knew it would be better for my head if I was ahead of the race, and then it was just a matter of holding on. I was super stoked to get it done in the end.

"I really had to dig deep that last lap. The wind definitely changed that last half of the race, the Freo Doctor rolled in and made it quite challenging up the climb and around the back of the race, so it added a different dynamic to the race, but super stoked to cross the line with a slender lead.

"I really thought I was going to light up the Games halfway through last year. I knew I was right up there with the world's best TTers. Unfortunately the results weren't there but I knew the legs were capable of it. So it was a lot of fire in the belly to go out there and prove it again."

Plapp now extends his incredible elite national championship record across the road race and time trial to six wins from eight starts since jumping up into the category in 2021 as a 20-year-old.

Kelland O'Brien placed third after hometown hero Luke Durbridge missed the final corner while he was in contention for the podium.

Instead, Durbridge continued on as if to begin another lap of the park due to a miscommunication with his team car via radio and did not record a result.

Results

Elite Men Individual Time Trial

1. Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) 46:33.00
2. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) +8.77
3. Kelland O'Brien (Team Jayco AlUla) +54.94
4. Chris Harper (Team Jayco AlUla) +58.59
5. Michael Hepburn (Team Jayco AlUla) +2:13.10
6. Tali Lane Welsh (CCACHE x BODYWRAP) +2:16.25
7. Kane Richards (Roojai Insurance) +3:17.87
8. Dylan Hopkins (Roojai Insurance) +4:03.81
9. Matthew Burton (Australian Time Trial Association) +4:11.76
10. Oliver Stenning (Sunshine Coast CC) +4:31.01

Feature picture: ZW Photography/AusCycling