Canadian Alison Jackson sprints from the breakaway to win Paris-Roubaix

Jackson proved the strongest from the remaining breakaway which made it all the way to the Roubaix velodrome to secure a career-defining win at the Hell of the North

Almost the entirety of the race was defined by that 18-rider-strong early breakaway, formed with around 120km to go, which featured Canyon-Sram’s British champion Alice Towers, Lisa Klein, Alison Jackson, and Susanne Andersen, and built up an extremely dangerous six-minute advantage over the main favourites.

Elisa Longo Borghini sparked a crash that caught out a spate of riders, including the in-form Lotte Kopecky. Longo Borghini was seeking to defend her title, but her confidence took a huge knock when she fell down on a slippery section. The Italian was also hoping to continue Trek-Segafredo’s flawless run at Paris-Roubaix Femmes, while Kopecky was aiming to win another race in 2023.

The Italian was leading over a dozen riders in pursuit of the day’s breakaway when she suddenly lost control with 37km remaining, falling to one side and sparking a mass pile-up behind. Pre-race favourite Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) and Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) were among those caught up in the carnage.

Last year's winner Kopecky’s hopes appeared to be over as she drifted back between the team cars before the Dutchwoman launched a brilliant recovery to latch back onto the chase group as the race headed for a thrilling finale.

Amidst all the chaos and ever-changing tactical permutations, the remnants of the morning break – pushed on by the seemingly indefatigable Jackson – remained 20 seconds clear with five kilometres to go, before Trek-Segafredo’s cyclocross star Lucinda Brand, and then Canyon-Sram’s Chabbey, attacked from the second group, to no avail, however.

But this most dramatic edition of Paris-Roubaix was always destined to go right down to the wire on the famous old velodrome – and, with the favourites languishign behind, albet in touching distance, it proved the day of the break, with Jackson emerging as the strongest from a tough, gritty sprint to take an astonishing career-defining win.

VIDEO: 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes Final Km

2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes Top 10

1  JACKSON Alison EF Education-TIBCO-SVB 3:42:56
2  RAGUSA Katia Liv Racing TeqFind 0:00
3  TRUYEN Marthe Fenix-Deceuninck 0:00
4  DUVAL Eugénie FDJ - SUEZ 0:00
5  BORRAS Marion St Michel - Mavic - Auber93 WE 0:00
6  LACH Marta CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling 0:03
7  KOPECKY Lotte Team SD Worx 0:12
8  GEORGI Pfeiffer Team DSM 0:12
9  CONSONNI Chiara UAE Team ADQ 0:12
10  VOS Marianne Team Jumbo-Visma 0:12