Plapp solos to stage win and Ulissi becomes first Italian to lead Giro in 4 years

CASTELRAIMONDO, Italy (AP) — Luke Plapp soloed to victory in the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia for the biggest win of his career while Italian veteran Diego Ulissi moved into the overall lead on Saturday.

“Crazy, crazy,” Plapp said with a smile immediately after his first victory in a Grand Tour.

Plapp attacked from a breakaway with about 45 kilometers (28 miles) remaining and had about a minute’s advantage on the final climb. The Australian rider then used his time trialling skills to hold off his chasers.

“I knew I couldn’t beat any of them in a sprint, so I knew I had to go at some stage pretty early,” Plapp said. "I just thought I’d give it a crack and, to be honest, just wanted a bit of a head start on the descent as well.

“So, to stay away all the way to the finish is definitely not what I expected.”

Plapp had plenty of time to celebrate, sitting up and lifting his arms out as he crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman and Ulissi at the end of the tricky 97-kilometer (122-mile) route from Giulianova to Castelraimondo.

“I feel like it’s been a long time coming,” Plapp said. "Last year I got so close at the Giro so many times, and for today to happen is so, so special.

“We marked it as a stage (to win) for a few weeks now and then this morning on the bus we were really really excited. So to make it happen is a dream come true.”

Ulissi faced an anxious wait to see whether he'd done enough to take the pink jersey from pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic and become the first Italian to lead the race since 2021.

He let out a loud yell of joy when it was confirmed, after Roglic and most of the rest of the peleton finished nearly five minutes off the pace.

Ulissi, who had never previously led the Giro, has a 12-second advantage over compatriot Lorenzo Fortunato and was 17 seconds ahead of Roglic.

“Just before putting it on (the leader's jersey), I was really thinking about the afternoons I spent with my grandparents when I was a kid and watching the Giro and dreaming,” Ulissi said.

“I had already realized the dream of winning stages, I came very close to wearing the pink jersey. Now, living this dream at the end of my career — because I’m not getting any younger — is everything, truly a great joy.”

Even more special is that Ulissi will be in pink as his home race heads into his home region of Tuscany.

“I’m thinking of sleeping with the maglia rosa on tonight,” Ulissi said with a laugh. “But the thought of going through my Tuscany with the maglia rosa is truly a great emotion.”

Sunday’s ninth stage includes a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads on the 181-kilometer route from Gubbio to Siena.

The Giro ends in Rome on June 1.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

The peloton climbs a hill during the stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Australian rider Luke Plapp cycles during the stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Ulissi Diego celebrates wearing the pink jersey of the overall leader following Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Australian rider Luke Plapp celebrates as he cycles to the finish line to win during the stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the 8th stage of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday May 17, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the 8th stage of the Giro d'Italia from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, Italy, Saturday May 17, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid and apparently snubbing U.S.-led peace efforts as the war approaches the four-year mark.

Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said. The daytime temperature in the capital was -12 C (around 10 F). The streets were covered with ice, and the city rumbled with the noise from generators.

Four days earlier, Russia also sent hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack and, for only the second time in the war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in what appeared to be a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies that it won’t back down.

On Monday, the United States accused Russia of a “ dangerous and inexplicable escalation ” of the fighting, when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations.

Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores “the staggering number of casualties” in the conflict and condemns Russia’s intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water in the freezing winter months over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”

In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the Russian attack also wounded 10 people, local authorities said.

In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded in the attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure, a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility and a number of residential buildings, he said.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed upon air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe, as well as new pledges of aid, to counter Russia’s latest onslaught.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. Seven were reportedly destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region, where Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog, about 40 kilometers (about 24 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, in Kyiv's latest long-range attack on Russian war-related facilities.

Ukraine’s military said domestically-produced drones hit a drone manufacturing facility in Taganrog. The Atlant Aero plant carries out design, manufacturing and testing of Molniya drones and components for Orion unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Explosions and a fire were reported at the site, with damage to production buildings confirmed, the General Staff said.

It wasn't possible to independently verify the reports.

Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)