CASTELRAIMONDO: Luke Plapp of Jayco AlUla won stage eight of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday with a formidable solo effort on the 197 km ride from Giulianova to Castelraimondo while Diego Ulissi became the first Italian in four years to take the pink jersey.

After nearly 20 riders formed a breakaway group with 100 km to go, Plapp attacked the Montelago climb and the Australian did not look back as he rode to victory by a handsome margin to claim his first Grand Tour stage win.

Plapp was so far ahead that there was no chaser in sight, but the 24-year-old still looked cautiously over his shoulder on the final stretch to the finish, hands on head in disbelief as he crossed the line.

“It’s pretty crazy, I still can’t believe it, to be honest. I feel like it’s been a long time coming,” Plapp said. “Last year I got so close to the Giro so many times. And for today to happen is so, so special.”

Wilco Kelderman of Visma-Lease a Bike finished second while XDS-Astana’s Ulissi came in third, with both riders finishing 38 seconds behind Plapp.

But Ulissi’s effort was enough for him to take the overall leader’s pink jersey from Primoz Roglic, with the Italian screaming in delight when he was told the “Maglia Rosa” was his.

Ulissi had been 4min 01sec down at the start and the main contenders for the title were just a handful of seconds outside that limit, meaning he couldn’t celebrate until he knew they had missed the time cut.

Ulissi will be the first Italian to wear the pink jersey since Alessandro De Marchi in 2021, ending an 86-stage drought. He leads his teammate Lorenzo Fortunato by 12 seconds while Roglic is 17 seconds behind.

“I was going for the stage win, I hadn’t thought about the race lead until the fans started to shout about the pink jersey along the road,” the 35-year-old Ulissi said. “When I was a kid I used to watch the Giro with my grandparents and dreamed about this mythical jersey. So this is hugely satisfying.”

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025