The Australian Olympic road cyclist Lucas Plapp is in a stable condition in a Parisian hospital after a nasty crash in slippery conditions during the men’s individual time trial on Saturday.
Plapp was flying along the rain-soaked central Paris course, clocking the fourth fastest time at the first intermediate time check, before the 23-year-old collided heavily with a barrier fence.
The cyclist was taken to a French hospital, where he underwent abdominal surgery on Saturday evening. According to a statement from the Australian Olympic Committee, the Team Jayco-AlUla rider was supported at the hospital by his parents and a team doctor.
Plapp is a two-time Australian time trial champion, and has won the last three editions of the national road race championships. He also won a bronze medal in Tokyo on the track, as part of the team pursuit squad that recovered from a high-profile mechanical incident to secure a third-place finish.
After riding the Giro d’Italia in May for his trade team, Plapp had been in intense preparation for the time trial, reportedly riding on his specialised time trial bike daily.
The 32.4km race against the clock was set along a beautiful Parisian course, passing a number of the city’s landmarks. But heavy rain on Friday night and Saturday morning left the course dangerously slick, particularly in cobbled sections.
Plapp was not the only rider to come unstuck, with a number of slips across both the men’s and women’s races. Norway’s Søren Wærenskjold also failed to finish the men’s time trial.
In the women’s race earlier in the afternoon, Plapp’s teammate Grace Brown managed to stay upright in an emphatic ride to win the gold medal, Australia’s first of the Paris Olympics. The men’s time trial was won by Belgian star Remco Evenepoel.
The men’s and women’s road races take place in the middle weekend of the Paris Olympics. Plapp had been due to ride in support of the three-time world championship medallist Michael Matthews, as the veteran makes his Olympic debut, alongside veteran road captain Simon Clarke. An update on a potential replacement for Plapp, unless he can make a rapid recovery, is expected later on Sunday.
Australia will have high hopes in both road races. Brown showed ominous form in the time trial and will lead the women’s team, supported by Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Lauretta Hanson. Matthews, meanwhile, won bronze at the world championships two years ago, and is very familiar with French roads, having won three Tour de France stages and the green jersey in 2017.
