Megan Armitage (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) is set her 2025 season underway in Australia this week and the Irish woman, now in her second year with her US-registered team, says she is looking forward to getting stuck in.
Armitage, the first Irish women to win a UCI-ranked stage race, has made rapid progress through the ranks since taking up racing during the pandemic, having previously been a hill runner.
And having spent another European winter training in the heat of Australia, she is set to take on Tour Down Under, which gets underway on Friday, as part of a very strong EF-Oatly-Cannondale selection.
"My off-season has been good," Armitage said. "I spend it in Australia each year, so it's been really great training in the heat and preparing for this Aussie block of racing.
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"TDU and Cadel Evans’ Great Ocean Road Race are up there with my favorite races, and they mean a lot to me, so I'm excited to pin on a number again.
"I think the stages are attritional and I hope it will be really hot – I love heat! I think our team can do a big result here and I'm ready to work hard to achieve this."
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Armitage will be looking to get her season off to a strong start, and has the climbing abilities to cope when the road kicks up.
Her team also includes Swiss national champion Noemi Rüegg, who was 7th in the Olympic road race in Paris and may be one to watch this weekend, especially on the final stage.
Babette van der Wolf, Sarah Roy, and Henrietta Christie will ride their first race for the team at Tour Down Under while Rüegg, Kim Cadzow, and Armitage were with the team last year.
The race opens on Friday with 101.9km from Brighton to Snapper Point and though there is a modest climb in the middle, it should be fast stage that does not decided the general classification.
However, stage 2 should be a lot more decisive, with two ascents of Willunga Hill during the 115km of racing; the stage finishing on the second passage of the climb.
Racing concludes on Sunday with a 105.9km stage on a circuit around Stirling, featuring a 2km ascent, at 3.8 per cent, and finishing on the climb fifth time up.
