History Maker Megan Armitage On 2023 Plans And Advice To Young Riders 


Megan Armitage (Picture: Arkea Pro Cycling Team/Aubin Kipke)


History-making Irish cyclist Megan Armitage has opened up on her plans for the remainder of 2023 and her advice to young riders taking up road racing. 


The 26-year-old became the first female Irish rider to win a UCI ranked stage race after her General Classification victory at the Vuelta Extremaduras Feminas on March 12th. 


Taking a win on the final stage to seal the leaders’ jersey, the Offaly native went toe to toe with her fellow Arkea rider Clara Emond on the final climb as the teammates put it all on the line for GC victory. 


After a tough climb, the pair sprinted it out as Armitage had too much power for her Canadian teammate, sealing a piece of history that Armitage herself wasn’t even aware she was making.  


Speaking to Cycling Ireland, Armitage said:  

“I didn’t know going in that it hadn't happened before. Afterwards it was super special, it was pretty insane. I just really wanted to win so being able to achieve that was pretty cool. I knew to win the GC that I had to win the stage (stage three), so I went into the last stage saying to myself that whatever happens I’m just going to give it everything. I went for the intermediate sprint, and I got two bonus seconds there and then I knew it was going to come down to the final climb.”  
“I gave it everything there, it was kind of weird because me and my teammate were the strongest climbers there, but we had agreed beforehand that whoever was strongest on the day would win. It was kind of fair game, I guess.” 
“It’s not the nicest thing, she was fine at the end. It’s not nice to win against your teammate but that’s the way it unfolded. I never really go into those races thinking about that kind of thing, but learning afterwards that I guess I made history was pretty amazing.” 


Armitage celebrates winning the Vuelta Extremadura Feminas 


A landmark moment in her career after a consistent rise through the ranks of the professional peloton in recent years, Armitage plans to race as much as she can in 2023. 


While enjoying a mix of World Tour as well as 2.1 and 2.2 UCI ranked races with her French-based team, Armitage is learning to cut her teeth in the ruthless World Tour races and gaining confidence from strong performances in the 2.1 and 2.2 races. 


After a short break from racing, the series matter of Belgian Classics such as De Brabantse Pijl on April 12th and Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes on April 19th await before she plans to take on a number of stage races such as the Tour De Suisse and the Tour De Bretagne. 


And Armitage is targeting an appearance in the Tour De France Femmes this summer as she hopes to mix it up with the very best in the world.  


Armitage said: 

“Hopefully I’ll be doing that race, fingers crossed all going well. The calendar is really amazing and has a lot of climbing races. For me this season, I just want to race as much as I possibly can to get a bit more race craft under my belt. I’m really happy, it’s kind of planned out perfectly, I guess.” 


But her focus isn’t only on the prestigious stage races and one-day classics around Europe – Armitage has unfinished business at home.  


She’s targeting another tilt at the National Championships following some near-misses in recent seasons. Armitage was just four seconds behind the winner in a sixth place finish last year, came just behind Imogen Cotter in a sprint for the 2021 national title and was another six seconds short in eighth place in 2020. 


In 2023, she hopes to enjoy competing in the National Championships without placing too much expectation on her shoulders. The 2023 championships are scheduled to take place in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, on the weekend of June 24th and 25th.  


Armitage said:  

“Every Irish girl that lines up there wants to win it, but I think for me, every year I’ve gone in to race it I just put so much pressure on myself like I have to get the jersey.” 

“I’m nearly in tears after the race. The National Championships are such a weird race – it's so unpredictable. This year I’m 100 percent doing it, I can’t wait for it and I’ll give it my all without putting the amount of pressure on myself than I have the last few years. I want to enjoy it as much as I can.” 


Armitage (Left) in action during the 2021 National Championships on her way to second place finish


Her rise through the ranks coupled with a landmark first stage race victory last month puts Armitage among Ireland’s top female cyclists, and she has offered her advice to young women new to road racing or considering giving it a try.  


Armitage said:  

“For me the most important thing was that when I started racing, I never envisioned it taking this road – I never expected to end up here. I just really loved it and enjoyed it, that’s the most important thing. If you end up becoming fixated on results you end up losing the love of it and that’s something that I have to remember now.”  
“For someone that’s starting out racing, the most important thing I think is to get advice from people that you trust, get stuck in and get racing. That’s how I did it, I just start racing in Ireland and then if the opportunity arrises where you can do a stint in Belgium if you’re really committed to racing and doing as much of it as possible – that’s the fundamentals of it.”