Luke Plapp was really enjoying the opportunity to start his first year as a professional with the Australian national champion's jersey on his back. Road racing was a clear goal for this 22-year-old's summer in Australia, but plans don't always go smoothly.

"Right before Christmas I was feeling really good and confident," Plapp told Cycling News earlier this week. But then, he said, "I had a pretty nasty fall in training."

In that crash, Plapp said he lost a lot of skin. The crash kept Plapp off the bike for a week just before the start of the Citroën Baykrit season. There, he tried to support teammate Brenton Jones by controlling the field and keeping a high pace to thwart any attacks. Teammate Brenton Jones went on to retire with a final treasure of a victory, but to even greater effect.

"Bay Critz was just a way to see how I was doing and cram in some last minute training," Jones said. But I'm really looking forward to the All-Japan Championships."

[8 But I'm really looking forward to the All-Japan Championships. I might be a little bit out of shape because of that crash, but hopefully I'll be a little bit better for the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour."

"But I still feel okay.

Plapp faces a strong field at Nationals, but he has no teammates to help him.

"It's going to be a great race," he said. I'll be honest, I've been racking my brains the last two weeks trying to figure out how to win and how the race is going to go." I'd love to be a spectator and watch the race unfold."

"It's going to be a great race.

The COVID-19 epidemic prevented entry to Australia, and two years of cancelled international races in the country meant that athletes who had missed out as a result returned after two years of missed opportunities. [All 16 laps of the 185.6-km race include a climb on Buninyong Road, which will be a major challenge for the sprinters. [Some years Richie Porte and Cadel Evans made the podium, while other years Heinrich Haussler and Caleb Yuan did.

In 2023, top sprinters like Caleb Yuan (Lotto Doustony) will be on the start list, with the power of Michael Matthews and Jayco Arla, plus Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen) and Jay Wein (UAE Team Emirates) With the addition of climbers, a variety of developments are possible.

"I don't know where I fit in either. I can't climb like Benno and I can't sprint like Caleb and Bling, so it will be a really interesting race to see what happens," Plapp said, referring to the national teams and their ability to "outnumber" them against Jayco Alura.

"I really hope that the domestic teams in particular will be able to bite Jayco.

And one more thing, it's going to be hot, with temperatures in Ballarat forecast to be in the mid-30s on Sunday. Plapp had a close race last year in COVID-19, but in 2021 he stepped up from U23 to elite and won the race.

The time trial has usually been held the day before the criterium and road race, but this year the elite race will be held on Tuesday, January 10.

"I can't say I'm a big fan, and I don't see the point in why they're doing this," Plapp said. In a way, it forced him to make a choice.

"I'd love to keep the (road race) jersey, but I know how hard road racing is now, and I can't train for a time trial if I'm going to do a road race. You're going to be fatigued [from the time trial] and it won't matter how many kilometers you've done in the trial, you're going to be tired."

"I've focused on road racing. If I really wanted to do the best TT, I wouldn't be road racing."

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