Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) can celebrate the biggest success of his career to date with an impressive performance. After a 46-kilometre solo ride, the Australian confidently won stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia 2025. From a 20-rider breakaway group, he first demonstrated his climbing skills by taking the lead of the peloton with an elite group of four riders. When he attacked shortly before the Montelago climb, no rider was able to follow him. He then defended his leading position impressively in time trial style. In the meantime, he built up a lead of over a minute and crossed the finish line as a soloist with a dominant performance.
"I knew that a win like this had to come at some point. I've come close several times before. Winning today is something very special. It was an incredible battle in the breakaway today." - Luke Plapp in the winner interview
Plapp and Ulissi cheer
It wasn't just Plapp who impressed on stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia 2025, Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team) also proved his strength. He was the driving force in the three-man chasing group behind Plapp. He worked in the wind for a long time and didn't let the Australian's lead get too big. In the end, he was only beaten by Plapp and Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). As a result, Ulissi not only bagged a podium place on stage 8, but also took the maglia rosa - the lead in the overall standings. The peloton with the previous overall leader Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) crossed the finish line 17 seconds too late. This means that an Italian is leading the Tour of Italy again after a long time. Roglič is now third and Ulissi's team-mate Lorenzo Fortunato has also overtaken the Slovenian.
Giro d'Italia 2025 - Results of the 8th stage
Stage 8: Giulianova - Castelraimondo
Giro d'Italia 2025: Stage 8, Giulianova - Castelraimondo
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Jayco AlUla | 04:44:20 |
| 2 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | +00:00:38 |
| 3 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:38 |
| 4 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | +00:01:22 |
| 5 | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | +00:01:35 |
| 6 | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | +00:01:48 |
How the 8th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 went
The 197-kilometre stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia 2025 between Giulianova and Castelraimondo was particularly interesting for the breakaway riders. There were constant ups and downs through the Apennines. The first attacks came immediately after the start of the race. Among others, Max Kanter (XDS Astana) tried his luck, and Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) was also very active.
Pedersen secures more points
It didn't take too long for three riders to break away for the first time: Mattia Cattaneo (Soudal - Quick Step), Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) and Davide De Pretto (Team Jayco AlUla) picked up the pace and opened up a gap. However, the peloton did not grant the trio a clear lead. Many teams were unhappy with the race situation and tried to catch up with the leaders. After the first intermediate sprint of the day, the leading trio slowed down and dropped into the peloton. Mads Pedersen had achieved his goal: winning the intermediate sprint.
The first riders already had problems on the first climb due to the high speed: Pedersen and van Aert, among others, had to leave the peloton early, as the first section of the race had taken too much out of them.
Large escape group forms up
With 117 kilometres to go, there was an attack that would result in the leading group of the day. First Rémy Rochas (Groupama - FDJ) initiated an increase in speed with only a few other riders, then more and more riders joined them. A total of 20 riders broke away in succession. Among them were big names such as Georg Steinhauser (EF Education - EasyPost), Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Romain Bardet (Team PicNic PostNL), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team).
The large group was let go by the peloton. The escape group gained more than five minutes in a short time. In the peloton, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team ensured a long lead. On a descent, Georg Steinhauser launched an attack that allowed seven riders to break away from the large leading group. The German was joined by Romain Bardet, Andrea Vendrame, Luke Plapp and Igor Arrieta.
Plapp attacks
The group then broke up on the climb to Motelago. Shortly before the mountain classification, Plapp broke away with an increase in speed. He then stayed on the accelerator and created a gap of over a minute. Behind him, a chasing trio of Kelderman, Arrieta and Ulissi formed up. With 20 kilometres to go, Arrieta unpacked the crowbar and tried to catch up with the leaders. After a few kilometres, however, his attack was history. He was caught by Kelderman and Ulissi and even distanced shortly afterwards. Ulissi in particular worked in the wind and tried to defend his large lead over the peloton - he had the chance to take the overall lead in the Giro d'Italia 2025.
Plapp had no problems defending his lead over the final kilometres. The Australian was able to pick up the pace in the final 100 metres and was celebrated by the fans. Behind him, Kelderman secured second place in the final sprint with Ulissi. Meanwhile, the Italian was also able to celebrate at the finish - he is the new overall leader. The best German on the day was Georg Steinhauser in eighth place.
