Allison Jackson made history in 2023 as the first Canadian, male or female, to win the Monument, and the legendary Paris-Roubaix cobbled trophy last April defined her season and career. In just a few days, she will race in the new Women's Challenge Mallorca to defend her "Queen of the Cobbles" title. [The World Tour-level EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team disbanded late last year, so this continental program grabbed her talent. Despite the learning curve of entering her ninth season as a professional cyclist and a new team with big races leading up to the Paris Olympics, Jackson uses the words "fun" and "happy" a lot to describe her serious work.

"I like that the team allows me to be me and have a happy heart. A happy heart leads to a happy life," Jackson told Cycling News from Spain just before the start of the 2024 race.

"This team felt right for me. I think it's because they really love personalities. It comes from EF, their company, storytelling, and all the partners we have with us, like Rapha, Wahoo, MucOff, they love storytelling too. They do things in different ways and still take their sport seriously and produce great results.

Jackson's story will be told for a long time. She went from breakaway rider to sprint winner in the Paris-Roubaix fam and made the hearts of many dance in her social media congratulatory video.

"For me, it means a lot to win the Monument and to go down in history as the first Canadian, male or female, to win the Monument," Jackson admitted. 'In order for me to believe it's possible, I have to believe I can win. Cycling is fun. Racing is fun. But winning is a special kind of fun."

Following a training camp in Mallorca this month, Jackson and the EF Education Cannondale athletes will begin the UCI race season with a three-day road race series, Challenge Mallorca Femenina. The first race is the Felanitx-Colonia de Sant Jordi Trophy.

"I can participate in Challenge Mallorca a couple of times. We're in the middle of a team camp. We'll see if we can actually use it in a bike race or if we can go back after the race and learn from it and apply it to the next big race. For me, it will be the UAE Tour. If you add the wind to it, it will be a fun bike race. Then we'll have some good starts before the spring classics and then the opening weekend."

Like last year, she will use her full schedule of 11 one-day races over eight weeks to reach the Vuelta España Femenina. She will be competing in her first Spanish race in two years. For now, however, she is more focused on the One-Day Classic.

"It's a bit of a different challenge, but (Bruges -) De Panne is similar to Paris-Roubaix. Obviously, it's a flat race and it's a select group. If it's windy, you better make that part of the challenge. I really want to win," Jackson said.

"This course has everything. There's wind, there's the Kemmelberg (a half-kilometer average of 9.2%), the climbs in that area are hard enough, and there's a long run-in to the sprint finish. And then there's the long run-in to the sprint finish.

"Of course, Flanders is also a career-defining event. Of course, Flanders is also a career-defining race.

Last year, Jackson earned the most UCI points of any EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team, bolstered by his Paris-Roubaix victory. He also won his second Canadian national title in the road race and two medals at the Pan American Championships, a silver in the road race and a bronze in the time trial.

Two young Canadians on the EF Education Cannondale roster are Clara Emon, who moved from Arkea Pro Cycling, and 22-year-old Magdalene Valliere, who raced with Jackson on the TIBCO team. She will be counting on them at the Canadian Road Championships in St. Georges in June.

"There are a lot of great women cyclists in Canada right now. I want to race more with that team and get some great results. It's great to see more Canadians coming to Europe and starting to challenge themselves in World Tour races. It's always so nice to see Canadians," Jackson said. In her career, Jackson has won four national road titles: the 2015 criterium championship, the 2021 time trial and road titles, and the 2023 road championship.

"Having two teammates at Nationals takes the pressure off, whether the jersey is on my shoulders or on my family. I'm always really proud when I get to wear the Maple Leafs." [Whether representing Canada or EF Education Cannondale, Jackson has learned to make her job fun and simple.

"As I got older, I also learned to have fewer main goals. In the beginning, I just wanted to win everything, and I think everything was painful," Jackson recalls. 'Winning any one race is absolutely special. Winning Olympic gold means a lot to me, my family, and my country. To win Paris-Roubaix again and take the title of Queen of the Cobbles would be truly unreal and very gratifying. Winning a stage at the Tour would also mean a lot. [And always, to be national champion. That's my big goal right now."