Alison Jackson signs for EF Education-Cannondale

Alison Jackson has signed for EF Education-Cannondale for 2024 as the new EF women’s squad continues their expansion, the team announced on Tuesday.

As previously reported by GCN, the Paris-Roubaix Femmes winner and Canadian national champion is the latest rider to join the new team, which will be owned by the organisation behind EF Education-EasyPost and will ride at Continental level in 2024.

“EF Pro Cycling does such a good job with letting me be me and I love that part,” Jackson said of the move. “I can just be who I am and it’s appreciated on and off the bike. I really love the brands and partners that are on board with EF Education-Cannondale.”

The current, long-running WorldTour team, EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, which is owned by former pro Linda Jackson, is set to fold at the end of this year with EF Education moving title sponsorship to the new outfit. Alison Jackson is so far the fourth rider to move from EF Education-TIBCO-SVB to the new team, following Veronica Ewers, Letizia Borghesi and Magdeleine Vallieres.

Read more: Pro cycling transfers – every move for the 2024 season

The 34-year-old took the biggest win of her career earlier this season when she won Paris-Roubaix Femmes, outsprinting a small group in the velodrome after the early breakaway survived all the way to the finish.

Moving to a new but familiar team next season, Jackson hopes to continue winning.

“I just want us to win bike races,” Jackson says. “I think that with bold riding and good legs, it’s going to be good. My personal goals will always be in the spring and I just want to take confidence from the Paris-Roubaix win to win again, ideally in some of these other classic races that I’ve had my eye on.

“I love racing and I always say I just want to be a difference-maker, so whether it’s me getting to be the winner or helping a teammate to make that happen, my goal is to do something that really matters in the race.”

EF Education-Cannondale’s general manager Esra Tromp, formerly of Jumbo-Visma, referenced both Jackson’s strength as a rider and her positive attitude - chronicled by her well-known TikTok and social media presence - as one of her assets.

“She is a rider with a big personality who shows it with a lot of fun videos and dances and she brings that fun element to the team but in speaking with her, I can see a determined and focused rider who can still learn a lot,” Tromp said. “She can also balance this racing side of her with the fun-loving side of her. This also inspires teammates to have a little bit of fun around the races.

“She brings experience, determination, discipline, and fun. As a rider, I think she can perform on an even higher level than she has in the past couple of years and can win even more. We’re going to help her with that.”

As a new squad, EF Education-Cannondale will not be able to hold a WorldTour license in their first year of racing, but will be hoping their backing and big-name riders like Alison Jackson will earn them starts in the biggest races on the calendar.