Megan Armitage is set to make her full pro debut tomorrow in Belgium when she rides Dwars door Vlaanderen. The event - over 120km - has a UCI 1.Pro ranking, which is higher than anything the rapidly emerging Irish rider has ever tackled before outside of the Worlds.
The 25-year-old from Shrinrone, Co Offaly, has faced off against top pro teams before, of course, including some World Tour squads. But that was riding as a stagiaire late last year for Team Rupelcleaning.
This time around she has signed for the team, now Illi Bikes, for the whole season and so is making her full debut for the squad tomorrow, and at the highest level of the sport.
Armitage has spent most of the winter in Australia training and racing. After a really strong season last year, during which she emerged as one of the best Irish riders, she will get to gauge her level against the best in the sport tomorrow.
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She showed the kind of form in one recent race outing that suggests her level is even higher now than last year; putting on an aggressive display at the Lochard Energy Women's Warrnambool Cycling Classic last month.
The 160km event for elite women was part of Australia’s National Road Series and featured a whole host of top riders. Armitage finished 4th after making the winning breakaway of seven and was aggressive in trying to go solo close to the finish.
The field for tomorrow's Dwars door Vlaanderen includes last year's race winner; three-time world champion and reigning Olympic TT champion Annemiek van Vleuten and her Movistar team. European road race champion and world TT champion Ellen van Dijk and her Trek-Segafredo team will also be in action.
Indeed, 13 of the 14 teams in the women's UCI World Tour will be on the start line, with SD Worx the only absentee, making for a very competitive outing for Armitage. The final climb of the day comes about 60km from the finish in Waregem, meaning the finale may come down to a battle from a reduced peloton.
