Dreaming of Classics glory - Alison Jackson back in action at EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
'You might not be the strongest but you can really use strategy' Canadian speaks with Cyclingnews about the Spring Classics and Paris-Roubaix aspirations
From March 6-12 - conveniently coinciding with International Women's Day on March 8 - Cyclingnews is excited to welcome our readers to Women's Week, in which we'll be running a series of exclusive interviews, features, blogs, tech, advice and more.
Alison Jackson races in 2023 for a fourth season on the Women’s WorldTour, excited to be healthy for the Spring Classics and contribute to a ‘new’ team as part of its growing foundation.
A sense of purpose looms large for the Canadian, who sees it not only as a reciprocal situation for success this year but also as an opportunity to reform a bit of déjà vu. Jackson returns to the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB programme after three years, the team having moved from the Continental level to the world’s top stage during her departure.
Jackson recognises a re-energised environment, a new title sponsor, all new faces except one teammate, Lauren Stephens, and an expanded infrastructure in a full commitment to WorldTour success. Time to ‘believe’, as fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso would declare.
“You know, for some of the reasons why I left, I just saw those gaps being filled. They brought on so many resources. They really have a lot of ambition to be a top-five team,” Jackson told Cyclingnews at the start of the year.
“And, you need to have all these difference-makers that really come on board with staffing and equipment and all these behind the scene things, basically. And so it was just really exciting to watch the team’s progress.
“They have some great climbers, which is also really exciting for me to be able to go into races having teammates that I believe can win, and do things that I don't have the skill set to do. And that's really exciting to get to be a part of the teamwork.”
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The base for team chemistry began last year when EF Education-TIBCO-SVB earned 13 wins in its debut at the top-tier level. In addition to Jackson, the team added only one other rider, New Zealander Georgia Williams, and both have helped boost the team’s results sheet, six podiums to date, and forge immediate chemistry.
Williams finished with two stage podiums at the Santos Tour Down Under plus a national title in the time trial, while Jackson scored a second place at Clasica de Almería, followed by a top 10 on stage 2 at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. Then one day removed from the hills of eastern Tuscany at Strade Bianche Donne, Jackson found her Classics legs along the Italian Riviera at Cinquale and sprinted from the chasers to finish one step off the podium at Trofeo Oro.
“I always enjoyed my time on TIBCO-SVB when I was on the team. And when EF came on board, it was really interesting just watching the team grow,” said Jackson, who raced with the TIBCO outfit in 2018 and 2019, that second season winning a stage and finishing second overall at the Tour of Scotland.
“I really love the ambition for the team. I mean, I want to win races, I want the team to win races. And when I looked at the program, they really needed a rider like me, a Classics rider.”
In 2021 Jackson had a breakout year with Liv Racing, earning double Canadian titles in the time trial and road race. She also won the points classification at the Ladies Tour of Norway and a stage at the six-day Simac Ladies Tour. In one-day races, she earned a pair of fifth places at Tour of Flanders and Drentse Acht van Westerveld and in between, she represented Canada in the road race at the Tokyo Olympic Games and finished an impressive sixth overall at the Road World Championships in Belgium.
“I had a great season in 2021. And I got to check off big goals, you know, winning a WorldTour stage, going to the Olympics, getting a top 10 result at a World Championships,” she said. “Then, from there, you get to make new goals. To win a Classics race that has so much history, that are just hard races, that's the dream.”
Those dreams for Classics glory were derailed on her second season at Liv Racing when she tore her ACL in January 2022. She managed to compete for two days at Setmana Valenciana and then a three-day stage race in the Netherlands before getting on the podium with a runner-up finish at Drentse Acht on March 11.
Then two weeks later, she had a bad crash at Gent-Wevelgem, resulting in a concussion, and was out of other targetted races. More sickness in the summer caused her to skip the defence of her national championship titles.
“After you come off a season like 2021, where I just achieved so much, you just want more and more and do better. This last year was a bit more difficult for me,” she admitted. “I would still say it was a successful season. I got on the podium and won the green jersey at the Tour of Scandinavia. So there's still a lot of good results and things that happened in the season.”
She said it’s not all about winning but how you manage adversity in order to strike again. And it’s about believing in your abilities and your team, which is not just physical power.
“You might not be the strongest, but you can really use strategy. That's the game of cycling. It's how you use what you've got when the fitness isn't totally there. I can really use the strategy to help myself along.”
The difficult part of a question about key races on her calendar this year is “which” ones are on the radar to do well, not so much “how” to get the job done. Jackson loves to compete in all races and does not pick favourites.
“I see that the abilities are there, the ambition is there. And when you're backed by a great team, then you can make those things happen. With this team, we can strategize a little bit on where we can peak,” she admitted.
“Paris-Roubaix, a new race on the calendar, that's quite a good race for me. And that also is just so steeped in great energy. It's such a chaotic race, a hard race. I would love to be one of the winners of this race while it's on our circuit. I've always loved Gent-Wevelgem. And if we can get a real windy day there or any of these hard races, I love to win for the team.”
Jackson has a reputation for making “silly videos” on her social channels. She said her time spent creating and filming dance moves gives her a work-life balance that she wants to pay dividends for herself and her ‘new’ team.
“One of my life mottos is ‘do well with what you have right now’. And so, I really want to be a great bike racer, that's my main goal and objective. I think that this balance of silliness and serious focus, it really helps me take a little bit of the pressure off. Keep the heart happy, which translates into better performance, I think and a better focus and willingness to suffer when it gets hard.”
Learn more about the Women's WorldTour in Cyclingnews' definitive guide for 2023, and join Cyclingnews for live coverage of the 2023 Spring Classics, and check in after each race for our full reports, results, galleries, news and features.
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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
