Luke Plapp has not worn a number since a time trial crash in Paris forced him to abandon two major season goals: the Olympics and the road world championships. The Jayco-Alula rider will be wearing the green and gold jersey of the Australian champion at the Gree Tour of Guangxi, and will be looking for an overall win while hoping to finish another successful international race this year.

“I am very excited to be back racing and participating in the peloton,” Plapp said in a team media release about his return from a late July crash.

“It's been a long three months recovering from surgery and the Olympics. I've had a good month back on the bike and now it feels like the start of a new season.”

In a way, it almost is. For Plapp, last year's Tour of Guangxi was his last race with then-teammate Ineos Grenadiers. He ended up retiring on stage 4, but this year marked the start of a rebuilding process with his new team, Jayco Aroura.

Getting in shape for the Australian summer races in January will be an important priority for the home team. The top-level racing will begin with the national championship jersey battle on January 8, but before that, Plapp will wow the crowds at the Tour of Bright master class in early December, providing an added incentive for training.

“I'm really looking forward to racing in China, and I want to be red-hot,” Plapp, a three-time Australian road champion, said of the six-stage race, which features a summit finish on day five.

“I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can climb with good legs. It's great to have more than one Aussie in this race.” Plapp will race alongside compatriots Blake Quick, Lucas Hamilton, and Callum Scottson (who will move to Decathlon AG2R Mondial next season), and will be joined by Ethiopia's Wellai Hagos Berhe, Jan Maas of the Netherlands, and Norway's Amund Grondahl Janssen. They will be joined by.

The race will start on Tuesday at Fangcheng Port on the southern coast of Guangxi and finish in Nanning on Sunday, October 20.