Megan Armitage resumes training after concussion scare ends Tour de France hopes

Megan Armitage has set the upcoming world championships as her new target, with the Offaly woman resuming training on Monday after being hit by a bus last week. Armitage was due to compete in the women’s Tour de France starting on Sunday but missed the race because of the training accident last Thursday.

She suffered a blow to her head and under medical guidelines was sidelined from racing for two weeks.

“I’m all good,” she told The Irish Times on Monday. “I’ve started back training properly. I’m just waiting for a bike. My next big focus is worlds so I’ll be targeting that over the next few weeks.”

Armitage’s bike was destroyed in the head on collision with the bus.

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“It’s just really disappointing,” she explained. “I was so prepared for it [the Tour]. I’m completely okay so I’m very lucky.

“I have nothing broken, just some cuts and bruises and stitches, but I’m completely grand. I asked them [the hospital in France] to do a concussion test but they didn’t do one. They didn’t really understand what I was asking.

“My head smashed through the windscreen so they said that I have a ‘probable’ concussion and said I can’t race for 15 days.”

[ Megan Armitage forced to withdraw from women’s Tour de France with concussion ]

Armitage has been one of the Arkéa Pro Cycling team’s strongest competitors this year, winning the final stage and the overall classification in the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas in Spain, netting fourth in the Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry and taking a number of other fine results.

Her squad had highlighted her climbing skills in its Tour de France team announcement, saying that she is “capable of achieving great things on mountain stages,” and singling out the Tourmalet stage as “a good test for her in order to benchmark herself against the best climbers in the world.”

Missing that chance is of great frustration to her, and she had sought a second opinion to see if she could get a green light. However that was not possible. “The team doctor said I can’t race as it’s too dangerous. I did hit my head so I completely understand their reasoning. I just wanted to be on the start line so badly.”

The Tour de France Femmes peloton is racing on Tuesday to Montignac-Lascaux. Stage one winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) continues to lead overall, while Monday’s stage two victor Liane Lippert (Movistar Team) sits second overall.

Armitage is due to line out in the women’s road race at the world championships in Glasgow on August 13th. The 2022 national champion Alice Sharpe and current champion Lara Gillespie will also compete in that event.

Cycling Ireland is fielding a total of 20 riders in the road events, as well as competitors across a range of other disciplines.

Irish selections for 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, August 3rd – 13th (Glasgow and other Scottish venues)

Road races

Elite men: Sam Bennett, Ben Healy, Ryan Mullen, Rory Townsend, Dillon Corkery, Cormac McGeough

Time trial: Ben Healy, Ryan Mullen

Elite momen (incorporating Under-23): Alice Sharpe, Megan Armitage, Lara Gillespie (U23)

Time trial: Kelly Murphy

Under-23 men: Darren Rafferty, Jamie Meehan, Odhran Doogan, Aaron Wade, Dean Harvey

Time trial: Darren Rafferty, Dean Harvey

Junior men: Seth Dunwoody, Liam O’Brien

Time trial: Adam Rafferty, Liam O’Brien

Junior women: Lucy Benezet Minns, Aine Doherty

Time trial: Lucy Benezet Minns, Aine Doherty

Track team: Women’s Endurance – Alice Sharpe, Lara Gillespie, Emily Kay, Kelly Murphy, Erin Creighton (Women’s Team Pursuit Reserve)

Para-cycling track team

Women’s tandem: Katie George Dunlevy & Eve McCrystal (Pilot), Josephine Healion & Linda Kelly (Pilot)

Men’s tandem: Damien Vereker & Mitchell McLaughlin (Pilot), Martin Gordon & Eoin Mullen (Pilot)

Individual: Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4, Chris Burns – Men’s C2, Richael Timothy – Women’s C3, William Clifford – Men’s C3

Para-cycling road team

Women’s tandem: Katie George Dunlevy & Linda Kelly (Pilot), Josephine Healion & Eve McCrystal (Pilot)

Men’s tandem: Damien Vereker & Mitchell McLaughlin (Pilot)

Individual: Ronan Grimes – Men’s C4, Chris Burns – Men’s C2, Richael Timothy – Women’s C3, William Clifford – Men’s C3, Cormac O’Callaghan – Men’s C1, Declan Slevin – Men’s H3, Allister MacSorley – Men’s H4

BMX

Racing: Matthew Malone, Danny O’Gorman (Junior)

Freestyle flatland: Dino Jeffers

Freestyle park: Ryan Henderson