At first, it was the jersey. Now, we’re proud to announce that the 26-year-old Irishwoman has just signed a multi-year deal with EF Education-Cannondale.

When Megan started riding bikes, it never even crossed her mind that she would become a pro. She was in Toulouse, doing a semester abroad, while she finished up her degree in French law. An injury was keeping her from running, so she and a friend rented some old bikes and rode up into the Pyrénées. Climbing those mountains, Megan decided that cycling was what she wanted to do. She had always been an athlete. Growing up in small-town Ireland, where she spent her childhood running around the fields of her family’s farm, she always wanted to be outside. Whether she was hiking or swimming or rock climbing, Megan knew that life was best outdoors. So, when she finished her studies and could finally push aside her law books, she moved to Belgium and started racing. Her talent, work ethic, and determination shone. In just her second year of cycling—2021—she finished second at the Irish national championships. The next year, she twice finished in the top ten on stages of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche, a pro stage race in France. Racing for a French team this season, she won the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas, plus two stages and the points competition at that race, on top of a pile of excellent results against WorldTour riders. Now, she’s coming to the team that first caught her eye, when she was wobbling out on her first rides in click-in pedals, those few short years ago. Megan can’t quite believe it. She is still just excited to ride her bike–and thrilled to start with EF Education-Cannondale next season.

“I remember when I started cycling, I just loved the kit,” Megan says. “I thought it was the best kit ever! And now, when I spoke to Esra [EF Education-Cannondale team manager] about the team and the project, I loved her idea that we should mix striving for really great results and have fun at the same time. It is so easy to get bogged down in numbers and watts and data and lose why you started cycling in the first place. If you are not happy on the bike, then you are not going to be getting results, and I want to be doing this for years and years. So to have the opportunity for these coming seasons to be on a team where we look at both sides of the equation is pretty incredible. I am lucky.”

Megan is also very determined. She has always been a gifted athlete, but has had to rely on her own resources and keep up a lot of belief in herself to get to where she is now. She’s earned her place on our team with a lot of pedal strokes. She is just getting started. Megan has a very clear idea of where she wants to go.

“I want to get to the point where I can win races,” she says. “I want to win. I want to be on a winning team. And I just want to enjoy myself and keep progressing. I have so much to learn, having come to the sport quite late, so having a home for the next years where I can learn from other riders who have been in the game for a lot, lot longer than me and learn from the directors and Esra and even the guys on the men’s team will be pretty cool. So for me, it is just continuing to improve—and winning!”

EF Education-Cannondale manager Esra Tromp thinks that Megan has the potential to do just that. The fact that she hasn’t followed a traditional road to the professional peloton might even be an advantage.

“Megan is still quite new to the sport,” Esra says, “but she has a really good attitude, and that is something that I really like. She is super eager to grow and is really eager to learn and that is important when you are a young rider, to be open to new experiences. Megan did a lot of different sports before she got into cycling—running, hockey, athletics—but in the end, she loves riding her bike the most.”

She sure does. Megan is thankful that she found cycling when she did and won’t have to spend the coming years in law libraries, but does agree that her earlier education and experiences will serve her well.

“Having come into the sport a bit later, and maybe having a little more maturity, will help me to keep my head on my shoulders and deal with the more stressful sides of the sport,” she says. “Having a university degree and knowing that there is life outside of this sport is also important, because it is so easy to get consumed by it and let it become your whole life.”

Esra hopes that she shares her wisdom with her new teammates.

“That experience of normal life will bring Megan some extra calm,” Esra says. “She will be able to enjoy her life as a cyclist even more and even better. And she will be able to help the younger riders who might struggle with that.”

Megan knows one thing: she is going to enjoy the heck out of next season. Right now, she is training hard in Nice, France, where she lives with her boyfriend who is also a professional cyclist. Sometimes, he and Megan’s coach have to remind her that she shouldn’t spend every waking hour outside, exploring the mountains behind the city on her bike and then enjoying the Riviera sunshine on the beach. After her childhood in Ireland, Megan sometimes still forgets that it is not necessarily going to rain at some point in the next hour. And she is just really excited to show what she can do in her brand-new EF Education-Cannondale shirt.

“I just love climbing,” she says. “And I really like hard races. I am a quite aggressive racer, so those attritional ones in the hills suit me best. My fatigue resistance is quite good too. I don’t seem to get too tired as the days go on. I get better and better, so hard races like the Tour and the Giro should suit me. And then, I absolutely fell in love with Liége-Bastogne-Liége this season. It is probably my favorite race of the whole season so far, so I would love to go for a really good result there.”

Megan Armitage is going to get a lot of great opportunities next year. She’ll make the most of them. Welcome to EF Education-Cannondale!