Chasing unfinished Olympic business, Australian cycling young gun Luke Plapp will use the next 12 months to further develop his huge talent.
Plapp, his partner Georgia Baker and 2014 series winner Brenton Jones are the first stars confirmed for the January 1-3 Citroen Bay Classic criterium series in Geelong.
After COVID-19 battered the last two domestic seasons, the Bay Classic will once again lead into the road nationals at Ballarat, followed by Adelaide's Tour Down Under and Geelong's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Plapp, who turns 22 on Christmas Day, is the defending national road race champion and he will be a major player through the early season schedule.
But it is only one piece in a much bigger puzzle for Plapp, who hopes to be a medal contender on the road and track at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He will aim for the road time trial, his speciality, and also ride the road race.
But the accomplished track cyclist would also like to ride the madison, which would complement an Olympic road campaign, and perhaps the team pursuit as well.
Plapp was a member of the team pursuit squad that battled to bronze at last year's Tokyo Games, a campaign cruelled by Alex Porter's dramatic snapped handlebar in qualifying.
"I still think I have a lot to offer on the track and all of us (team pursuit) boys have unfinished business there," Plapp said.
"Where that fits and how that fits, I'm not sure - the next 18 months on the road will tell me a whole lot more."
Plapp is coming off his first full year riding for the powerful Ineos Grenadiers team in the World Tour.
He competed on the road and track at this year's Commonwealth Games, taking bronze in the team pursuit, then made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a Espana.
Plapp was in a world of pain at the three-week Vuelta, and a week after he struggled at the world road championships in Wollongong.
But the experience was priceless.
Plapp doubts he will ride another Grand Tour next year, instead focusing on development and working out his 2024 schedule.
Brett Lancaster won gold with Australia in the team pursuit at the 2004 Olympics and was Plapp's sports director this year at Ineos.
He said once Plapp nails skills such as high-speed descending on the road, the young star will have a better handle of where to direct his burgeoning career.
"He learned a lot this year. He got his arse kicked a lot with the big boys in the Vuelta," Lancaster said.
"When all these little improvements come together, we can see some pretty big things from Luke.
"Anything could be possible with that kid."
After 20 years of racing and work as a sports director in Europe, Lancaster has returned to Australia and hopes to stay involved in cycling domestically.
The proud father will watch son Luca compete at the Bay Classic in the under-17 support races.
"Just learning the craft - you can't beat it for experience," Lancaster said of the Classic criteriums, which have been a nursery for stars such as Robbie McEwen, Caleb Ewan and Amanda Spratt.
Australian Associated Press
