After winning Milan-San Remo and finishing a career-best fourth in the Tour of Flanders and his home world championships, Jasper Stuyven said he will enter the 2022 season with a more relaxed attitude and even more confidence.

The Belgian rider said he is asked every year when his "first big win" will be, despite having stage wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Cune Brussel Cune, and Vuelta a España at the start of 2021.

At a press conference at Trek-Segafredo's year-end training camp, such a question was clearly not asked this season, when he kept the sprinters at bay with a last-ditch attack on the Ligurian coast to win his first monument.

Stuyven said the victory in San Remo will take some of the pressure off his shoulders going into the new season.

"Maybe I'll be a little more relaxed, and at the same time, I'll be motivated to keep winning good races in the spring," he said. Of course, having won at Monument this year, I'll be more relaxed going into it." Of course, having won at Monument this year, I'll be more relaxed going into the race.

Stuyven, who has been with Trek-Segafredo since turning pro in 2014, said he feels 2021 was the best season of his career so far. Although he still regrets his fourth place at the World Championships in his hometown of Leuven, he said he remembers the race as one of the best days of his life.

"I think it was the best year of my career so far," he said. I think it's not necessarily just the results, but also the way I've been able to race and the way I feel about the experience of racing," he said. It's not just the results, of course, but some races have been the best results that I've had.

"Personally, I look back on [the World Championships] as one of the best days of my life. I had goosebumps many times during the race. I want to remember the positive atmosphere and the amazing experience that I will probably never have again."

Now 29 years old, Steuben appears to be at the height of his powers as a racer. He added that he feels it is possible to surpass the classic "big three" of Mathieu van der Pol, Julien Alaphilippe, and Wout Van Art.

"I've always said that the best time to do it is between the ages of 27 or 28 and about 33 or 34. So far things are going well, but that doesn't mean I'm satisfied or that I want to stop here.

"Up until today [in San Remo] this is the biggest win of my career. It's a special moment and achievement in my career. Everyone was expecting one of the big three. For me and for the other riders, it proves that there are a lot of opportunities left and that it's not like a PlayStation [game]."

"In general, I don't think anyone is invincible. It's been a long time since Tom [Boonen] or Fabian [Cancellara] won four of the five Classics. Even if there is a great contender, it doesn't mean he will win. In Flanders, everyone saw Mathieu and Asgreen (Kasper) and thought it would be easy for Mathieu to win, but it didn't happen. It's not about who is the fastest, it's about who is the strongest in the end. I want to concentrate on myself and my training.

"Will I be as good a rider as Wout or Mathieu to win? Even if some riders do something very impressive, it doesn't mean they can drop me easily."

While San Remo was a big win for Stuyven and his team this spring, his co-leader, Mads Pedersen, also scored a victory at the Cune Brussel Cune. Outside of these races, 10th place in the Doire de Flenderen was the team's best result in the spring classics, including the postponed Paris-Roubaix.

Stuyven said he hopes he and the team can participate in more classics in 2022.

"We both want to be more present in the finals," he said. 'The whole team struggled this year. We struggled a little bit this year. The whole team struggled."

"I think it's no secret that Mads and I have been good friends since he first joined the team. We had a good connection from the beginning and it's only gotten bigger and bigger since then. It's good to be close and we support each other and we know that not only are we going to give everything for each other, but we're going to be in the finals together.

"It's never a situation where you think, 'I can't cover this move in case Mads is covering the next move and they get to the line. I think we have a really good understanding of each other, whether we're in the finals or before that. We have a good relationship and it's nice to bring that friendship into the finals of the Classic."

Eleven riders will join Trek-Segafredo for the 2022 season and beyond at the Trek-Segafredo training camp. Vincenzo Nibali may be the main departing player, but several newcomers are intriguing, including Tony Gallopin, Antoine Torhuc, Filippo Baroncini, Simon Perrault, and Marcus Hoelgaard.

Asked for his opinion on the new players, Steuben mentioned several players who would fit into the Classic team. Italian Baroncini turned pro with this team just months after becoming U23 World Champion with Leuven in a solo late-season attack.

"I think there are a lot of young players, and some of the younger players fit into the classic and climber groups. Baroncini, the U23 World Champion, could surprise in some of the races."

"Next to him is Marcus Hoelgaard (Uno X). He will back us up as the third man along with Mads and myself. He's had some really strong races this year. So we're excited to have him on the team and I think he's a rider that everyone wants to have on the team."

"We also have Daan Houle (SEG Racing Academy) and Otto Vergelde (Alpecin Phoenix). Dahn raced some races as a stagiaire at the end of the year. We were very happy to see how he fit in with the team and how motivated and strong he was. Otto has experience on the Belgian roads and has done a very good job for Mathieu in the past years.