Alison Jackson racing on the Women’s World Tour. Photo credit Michel Guillemette
Vermilion’s Alison Jackson competed for Canada at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck Tirol, Austria on September 29. The race course included a route of 156.2km, with 2,413 meters of elevation gain. “Loads of climbing means the race will be hard. This is the World Championships! The very best from every country are here to compete. It is of the highest level,” said Jackson prior to the competition. The week of world championship races will host over 1,000 athletes in Austria’s biggest summer sport event ever held. Jackson has been training all year for this race and is very excited to be representing Canada. “The race course is in a beautiful setting. Innsbruck is nestled in a valley between high rocky peaks and mountains; very picturesque. This is a very big race, and really important for Canada to show the world that we are competitive in this sport. It is always an honour to be selected to represent Canada as one of the top athletes in the country. I love wearing the maple leaf, and I’m looking forward to doing my best in my role for Team Canada!” said Jackson who was eager to race in the heart of the Alps. Throughout the year, Jackson races at the highest level of women’s cycling which is called the Women’s World Tour (WWT) and is a calendar of events held all over the world: Europe, Asia, and North America. This is her fourth year racing professionally. Previously, she spent two years racing in North America, and last year raced for an Italian team. Jackson was the first alternate for team Canada during the Rio Olympics, and already has a goal set to attend the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Competing with the best in the world, Jackson still remembers her early athletic life in Vermilion. “Vermilion is still home. It is where my mail is sent and I still pick up a few hours working on my parent’s farm south of town. My family has always believed in me, that I could do anything that I worked hard for, so I have believed it as well and put it into practice with my cycling career. Cycling has taught me to be adaptable. This sport and the lifestyle required to live on the road for it means you have to be ready to adapt to changes in schedule, travel, injury, success and disappointments. I am a really social person and love to make people laugh. This is usually very good for the team including my teammates and staff,” said Jackson.