Megan Armitage wins stage one of the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas

Megan Armitage and her Arkéa Pro Cycling squad raced to success on stage one of the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas on Friday, with the French outfit winning the team time trial in Mérida.

The squad covered the seven kilometre race distance in a time four seconds faster than the runner-up team Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime. The Solec team of Fiona Mangan was 14th. Armitage will start Saturday’s stage fifth overall but on the same time as her team-mate and race leader Marie-Morgane Le Deunff. The 2.2-ranked race concludes on Sunday.

Armitage was recently 21st in the 1.1-ranked Le Samyn des Dames, having ridden aggressively in the final kilometres. Friday’s showing is an important result for her, and also for the team she joined this winter.

Meanwhile stage six of the Paris-Nice race in France was cancelled on Friday, with high winds and fallen trees leading race organisers ASO to abandon the race to La Colle sur Loup.

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The organisers initially shortened the stage from a planned 197.5 kilometres to just 80 kilometres, with the riders due to travel the neutralised part by team bus before the start. However before they began racing the decision was taken to call a halt entirely.

“After reviewing several options for modifying the route and waiting for an improvement in weather conditions in the afternoon, the organisers of Paris-Nice have decided to cancel the sixth stage to preserve the safety of the riders of the 81st edition, in agreement with local authorities,” stated ASO.

“The exceptionally violent winds, which notably caused several tree falls in the region, make the cancellation of the stage inevitable.”

Irish riders Sam Bennett and Ryan Mullen (both Bora-Hansgrohe) will line out on Saturday’s penultimate stage, a 142.9 kilometre race to the summit of the Col de la Couillole. Bennett picked up a cold this week, with that sapping his strength at the end of Thursday’s fifth stage and seeing him finish back in seventh. He had placed second on stage one.

His team-mate Max Schachmann also has a cold and dropped out of the race on Friday. However a team spokesman told The Irish Times on Friday that Bennett won’t be forced to take the same decision. “Sam is good to keep on racing here,” he said.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s stage are too difficult for a sprint finish, but they will nevertheless serve as good preparation for the upcoming Milan-San Remo Classic on March 18th.