2018 started off on a great note for Year 12 Maribyrnong Sports Academy student Lucas Plapp after he became the Under 19 Australian Time Trial champion at the National Road championships earlier this year in Buninyong, near Ballarat. And it’s about to get bigger.

The effort of becoming the Under 19 Australian Champion is even more significant due to the fact that Lucas only turned 17 on Christmas day last year.

His time for the 21.6k time trial of 29 minutes and 32 secs was 12.5 secs faster than second place getter Tyler Lindorf but a 10 second penalty bought the result back to a much closer margin of 2.5 secs. The time was also 32 seconds faster than the bronze medallist Mitchell Wright. 

Lucas also won a Gold Medal in the U19 Teams Pursuit Final at the National Track Championships in Brisbane.  Along with teammates Graeme Frislie, Jensen Plowright and Bill Simpson the Victorian combination defeated Queensland by 1.95 secs. Add to that a Gold in the Scratch race and a Gold in the Maddison and that adds up to a very cool 4 national titles in 30 days.

Lucas, who has been at Maribyrnong College since year 7 says he is honoured the be crowned National Champion, “To win a race against the best in your country is one thing but then to get the title of National Champion is something you only dream off.  To get this far has only been possible by the help of the team around me including my parents, and the Phys Prep staff at Maribyrnong Sports Academy who push me to the limits and make sure I get the best out of every session un the gym and on the track.

While completing his VCE this year is his main priority, Lucas will continue to mix his sporting prowess and schooling for the next 5 months, “My biggest challenge in now in front of me having been picked by Cycling Australia for the Junior Track and Road World Championships.  The Track champs are in Switzerland in August and the Road Champs are in Austria in September.  In between, I will base myself in Girona, Spain and also in Italy to prepare for the events.  During this time, I will also be studding for my VCE exams which start basically when I get home.  It’s going to be a really hectic period, but with the help of the teaching staff at Maribyrnong and my own will to succeed, I am really looking forward to the challenge.”

Maribyrnong Sports Academy Physical Preparation coach Todd Carlon says Lucas’ work ethic in the gym is obviously a major reason for his success “I reckon a good quote that describes Plappy is persistence beats resistance.  He’s just a work horse and never complains if he’s stiff or sore he just keeps trying to get the best out of himself. I’m so glad for him that he is the National Champion because it once again proves that if you do the hard work the rewards come.”

Todd says Lucas’ program is different to the majority of students at the school.  “He has a major advantage over others in the gym because he is so strong mentally and so resilient.  I love the story he tells of his father making him ride home from Euchua to Melbourne for a bit of extra training.  So that really shows you how much work he does and I can bet you he wouldn’t have complained once, he would have just jumped on his bike and went at it.  His work rate is his greatest asset and that has helped him with his aerobic capacity for cycling for sure.” 

Lucas Plapp is one of 585 students who are proud to call Maribyrnong Sports Academy their school.  Our JETS (Junior Emerging Talent Squad) partake in technical training in 15 different sports as well as ADP (Athlete Development Program) classes during their normal school day.