Rookie roadie Alison Jackson on joining Twenty16 presented by Sho-Air
On Thursday, Twenty16 presented by Sho-Air released its 2015 roaster, which included Canadian Alison Jackson, a first-year pro. The triathlete, who was the age group sprint world champion in 2014, started getting roped into focusing just on the bike last year.
“When I was a triathlete, I was training cycling with a local bike team, Phoenix Velo in Mission, B.C.,” Jackson said. “All the guys kept trying to convert me to cycling, so I would enter cycling races here and there. Even though I never trained for them, I did quite well. Last summer, I decided to ride my bike a little bit more and see how I would compare with the pros at BC Superweek.” Jackson raked up top-15 finishes at Superweek racing for Glotman-Simpson, which included second at the MK Delta Criterium of the Tour de Delta, fifth at the UCI White Rock race (her first UCI race), and first overall in the White Rock omnium.
“No one knew who I was,” she said, “but since I had consistent results, it wasn’t just ‘beginners luck.’ It was local friends of mine and those with the Canadian national team that got me connected with Twenty16 presented by Sho-Air. After conversations with Denise Kelly and John Tolkamp [of Cycling Canada], John introduced me to Nicola Cranmer [general manager of Twenty16 presented by Sho-Air]. I am diving 100 per cent into cycling this year to see what will happen when I actually train for cycling and only cycling.”
While Jackson is committed to the bike and her team, she doesn’t know yet what her role will be on Twenty16. She’ll learn more at the team’s training camp the first week of February. Still, she does have her own goals for the year. “A big goal is going to be to learn as much as I can,” she said. “The ladies I get to work with have so much experience that I need to soak up! I am going to race Canadian nationals this year (for the first time) and I want to get into the top five. Also, I am going to work hard to get on a Canadian national team project.”
One of Jackson’s teammates with expertise to share is Andrea Dvorak. She rode with the squad in 2011, 2012 and 2013. “Twenty16 presented by Sho-Air is a program that has experienced great success from the junior to Olympic level,” Dvorak said. “Every success inspires the team to do greater things and views its horizon as endless.” Carmen Small, who will be racing at the track World Cup in Cali, is also joining the team for 2015. “I am so excited to work with Twenty16 this next season. It is a perfect fit for my goals on and off the bike, their relationship and importance with continuing education is right inline with my passion and background as an educator,” Small said. “ Twenty16 is a team that offers flexibility and is a multi-discipline team (road and track) and they will be a key part to my success and making it to the Olympics.”
Other team members include Lauren Hall, who won Gent-Wevelgem in 2014, Lauren Komanski, Jess Cerra, Kaitie Antonneau, Allie Dragoo and Alison Arensman. Jackson is the only Canadian, while all her teammates hail from the U.S.
