Watch the men's Paris-Roubaix from 7pm (AEST) LIVE and FREE tonight on SBS On Demand and from 8.30pm (AEST) on SBS VICELAND.
Jackson was one of six members of an early breakaway that outperformed the pre-race favourites in a slippery, crash-filled race. The 34-year-old outsprinted her companions and rivals Katia Ragusa (Liv Racing Teqfind) and Marthe Truyen (Fenix-Deceuninck).
12 seconds behind, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) was the fastest in the bunch to finish seventh after an eventful day of racing in the Hell of the North.
A group of 18, including Jackson, broke away from the peloton 22 kilometres into the 145.4-kilometre race. The group achieved a maximum advantage of five minutes and 40 seconds 40 kilometres into the race as heart-on-sleeve attacks and domino-effect crashes animated the event from behind.
With approximately 30 kilometres to go, the gap had reduced to one minute and 55 seconds. The leading group fractured with the cobbles of Camphin-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre and only seven riders remained at the front: Jackson, Marta Lach (Ceratizit-WNT), Eugenie Duval (FDJ-SUEZ), Femke Markus (SD Worx), Ragusa, Truyen and Marion Borras (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93). Meanwhile, an injured Kopecky was driving a strong chase from behind.
The gap came down to 15 seconds with 10 kilometres to go, then grew back to 20 seconds with five kilometres left to race.
Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) and teammate Elisa Longo Borghini tried to accelerate but their rivals were quick to react. The seven leaders entered the velodrome with a lead of thirteen seconds.
Lach led the way, Markus crashed, Borras opened up the sprint but it was Jackson who timed her race to perfection, storming to an extraordinary victory.
" 'What would I have said if you had told me at the start I was gonna win?' " Jackson said after the race. "Actually, I probably would have said 'Sweet, I’m doing it!'
"You have to have the confidence, be your best cheerleader sometimes. I would never shy away from saying I can win. I know I can but a lot of things have to come together to make it happen," Jackson said.
"At the front, you can save yourself from a lot of bad luck, especially with wet cobbles and muddy gutters. We were being chased down pretty hard but I had to commit. I'd rather put my heart out than giving it up by playing safely.
"I always say I love bike racing but it’s a special type of fun when we win, and in this big race, where we’re building history," Jackson said.
The 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes is only the third time that women have raced the event, which is one of five classic races which have long been known as "the Monuments" in men's cycling.
"It’s pretty monumental for Canadian cycling," Jackson said, on a high from the win.
"I grew up on a farm and one of my jobs was to go and pick up rocks from the field. Now I have my own rock!"
Jackson is the first Canadian winner in the long history of Paris-Roubaix. Her compatriot Steve Bauer was seconnd in 1990.
Alison Jackson (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB): "Now I have my own rock!" Credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images
"It was hard for me to think we could make it but in the team car they were telling me I can ride for the win: ‘Come on, you keep going, you are strong!’
"Kilometre by kilometre, I realised I could do something really big. This morning, I couldn’t imagine I would finish second.”
Despite missing the win, Kopecky was proud of her efforts in particularly challenging conditions. "I was in a lot of pain after [a] fall and initially feared my ankle was broken," she said.
"I didn't think I could continue. In the end, I got back on the bike and then it went better and better. It proves that in Paris-Roubaix it's never done."
Tune in tonight to watch all the action as the men tackle the Paris-Roubaix with coverage starting from 7pm (AEST) LIVE and FREE on SBS On Demand and from 8.30pm (AEST) on SBS VICELAND.
