"You have to believe you can win" - Alison Jackson on becoming Canadian first Monument winner

Alison Jackson made history in 2023 as the surprising Paris-Roubaix Femmes champion which also made her the first Canadian to win a Monument. But that also means that there are certain level of expectations for the 35-year-old's upcoming season, including title defense, Grand Tour stage win and Paris Olympics.

"I love that the team allows me to be who I am and have a happy heart. A happy heart goes to make a happy life," Jackson told Cyclingnews as she'll be entering her second year racing for American EF Education-Cannondale.

"I felt that this team has been such a perfect fit for me. I think it's because they really love personalities. It comes from EF, what they do with their company and storytelling. All the partners with us, too, love storytelling - Rapha, Wahoo, MucOff. To do things in a different way and still be serious about your sport and get great results, I love that."

"For me, it was going to have a lot of meaning to win a Monument and also to write my name in the history book as the first Canadian, male or female, to have won any of the Monuments," Jackson admitted. "You have to believe you can win, in order to even think that it could be possible. Cycling is fun. Racing is fun. But winning is a special type of fun."