Plapp is already in the pressure cooker environment of the Tokyo Olympics ahead of his participation in the track events with the team pursuit the blue riband event where the 20-year-old is expected to play a key role in the Australian squad.
Just days ahead of the announcement, Plapp received confirmation that the news that he has signed with WorldTour powerhouses INEOS Grenadiers would become public, kicking off a whirlwind few days for the young Victorian. Plapp spoke to SBS Cycling Central from Tokyo about the news that he's set to ride with INEOS Grenadiers, one of the most prestigious teams in the world in his first step.
"It's pretty exciting mate like you said it's been a bit of time in the making, over the last few months," said Plapp. "It's quite exciting to be able to announce it. I think for me personally to be able to become a grenadier is a dream come true.
"It's a team that I've always looked up to and wanted to go through and I think just with my track pathway and being a teams pursuiter, it was meant to be. We've seen the likes of Wiggo (Bradley Wiggins) and G (Geraint Thomas). It shows it's the right pathway for me."
Wiggins and Thomas both won Olympic gold medals in the team pursuit ahead of winning Tour de France on the road, and that's a pathway the ambitious Plapp wants to emulate, ticking off his goals in Tokyo ahead of fighting at the top of the general classification for the top races in world cycling.
"(They have) riders that are very similar physique to me and the way they've been able to turn them into grand tour winners, I think that is something I'd love to be in the future," said Plapp. "They've got an extremely good track record with that.
"I think it's going to be a very familiar environment as well it's obviously run from former GB track team staff. That's how we at CA (AusCycling) are run and it is very, very similar operation and I think it's an environment that I'm really gonna be able to fit into quite easily.
"Obviously, with the GB lads, they're super easy to get along with. One per centers I think are something I bring from the track and something I've learnt how vital it is and they’re the world leaders in that field. That's something I couldn't turn down, to be able to go to the team that has the best equipment, the best support staff, the best coaches, that’s really what drew me in."
Plapp will join up with the team for the second half of the 2021 season straight off the back of the Olympics, though it won't be a case of much immediate expectation and pressure placed on the 20-year-old. The traditional young rider races, the Tour de l'Avenir and the under 23 world championships are Plapp's key targets for the latter part of 2021.
"The next morning after the games finish, I fly straight to Barcelona," said Plapp. "I've already got a place in Girona and Andorra so I'll be basing myself up there. I'll only be there for 24 hours and then I jump straight on a plane to race l'Avenir.
"So I'll be given l'Avenir crack. Just to find my road form a bit get that get fit quick sort of thing. And then from Lavinia go back to Girona might do a few races with the team, but the whole focus from then will be the road worlds in Belgium."
From 2022 onwards the racing becomes more focused on the WorldTour with INEOS Grenadiers, with Plapp looking to absorb as much as he can early in his career from the established stars in the squad before looking for his own results.
"I think the thing that appealed to me is going to them we're really not in a rush for the results," said Plapp. "First year is really about learning, the way they say is: ‘the grenadier way of racing’ that's what I'm there for. To really settle into Europe.
"I think being at that team just there's no shortage of winners so I can take that time to really find my feet and work out the types of races that suit me, and what I want to focus on.
"In that second and third year that's where I wanna really start to get some race results for myself. And yeah I'd like to start to move into the Grand Tour side of things in that third year and beyond."
Plapp's coaches have been full of praise for the attitude that he brings to training and racing, with the 20-year-old winning national title with Inform TMX MAKE and already reaching the heights of the Olympics through the rigours of the high-performance program with the Australian Cycling Team. It's a resolve that Plapp wants to bring with him to the next stage of his career.
"I think for me it's all about that hunger... I always want to keep fighting to get to the top of the tree you could say in a way," said Plapp. "I really want to be able to step up into the WorldTour and have some results up there and I think at the moment we've seen the young guys really thrive in the WorldTour and I really want to be a part of that.
"We've seen the young people stepping up from juniors are really there physically, and I think the mental side of things is something as well that I can really push and really want to keep improving to get there.
"I don't think I'll make the jump to the grand tours as early as some of these guys have, but I'd love to be battling at the top there with some of the young guys and hopefully I won't be too intimidated at the same time."
While the future appears bright for Plapp, the present beckons as well, with the potential of Olympic medals on the track in Tokyo the immediate focus, and what the Victorian has been building towards for almost two years. While the road career appears set, it's all about the boards in Tokyo for the moment.
"I've tried to block the racing road out of my mind just for the moment so that I can focus on these games," said Plapp. "I think it's something that I was boys have been working on for so long together to fight for that gold medal and we're gonna be pretty disappointed if we walk away with anything but that gold medal.
"I really think the confidence is higher within the group and we believe we can go there and get that gold medal as well as obliterating that world record too. So that's the number one focus for us for the next week.
"Then after that for me, it's off to Europe and life on the road begins."
