Alison Jackson embracing the 'chaos' of return to the cobbled Classics
Reigning Paris-Roubaix champion is back on the cobbles at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Almost a year on from her famous breakaway victory in northern France, Paris-Roubaix Femmes champion Alison Jackson makes her return to the cobbles this Opening Weekend and the Belgian season opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
The Canadian champion scored the win of a career last April after spending 116km of the 145km race off the front and sprinting home on the Roubaix velodrome.
After taking her national road race title in June she hits the cobbled climbs – including the Muur van Geraardsbergen – on Saturday leading her new EF Education-Cannondale team into the 2024 spring Classics.
Speaking to Cyclingnews at the 't Kuipke velodrome ahead of the Omloop start, Jackson said that she's excited to embrace the chaos of the cobbles after starting her campaign in Spain and the UAE.
"This for sure is a different style of race than those early season races," Jackson, who scored a top 10 on her season debut at the Challenge Mallorca, said. "There's going to be a lot more chaos and a lot more things to manage. But we really just want to have a dynamic race and hopefully come out with a good result.
"I love racing. Training for cycling is great, but I love the chaos and drama of racing."
Jackson, who turned 35 in December, may still be racing in the familiar EF pink colours this season, but her team is an entirely new set-up, with the long-standing EF men's squad starting a new women's team for 2024.
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The new team features several riders from the now-defunct Women's WorldTour team – including Jackson, Veronica Ewers, and Letizia Borghesi – meaning that there are some familiar faces among otherwise wholesale changes.
"It's a new team at EF Education-Cannondale," Jackson said. "New riders, new staff. We've got a great set-up and I'm just looking forward to that support and building a new programme together for the year."
That programme will feature a return to Paris-Roubaix on April 6, Jackson said. The Monument will come as the culmination of her spring season, with her schedule also provisionally set to include participations at Strade Bianche, the Classic Brugge-De Panne, and the Tour of Flanders.
"For sure, I'm really excited to get there and to wear the number one," Jackson said of Paris-Roubaix Femmes. "I still think that Roubaix is always a race that you line up to and even if you have high expectations there's so much that's out of your control. So, you've just got to get in there and stay calm and make good choices along the way."
But before making her way back to the Nord, the Mons-en-Pévèle, and the Carrefour de l'Arbre, there's the matter of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the March Flanders Classic season to deal with.
"I mean it's going to be hard. It's going to be a lot of chaos," Jackson said. "We have such a great group of girls, and we get along well on and off the bike. I think that kind of team commitment and power is going to do a lot of good for us."
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.