Sonny Colbrelli revealed that he often watches videos of his Paris-Roubaix victory and its emotional celebration, but the Bahrain Victorias rider has targeted the 2022 Classic, where he will be joined by Wout Van Art (Jumbo Visma) and Mathieu Van Der Pol ( Alpecin Phoenix) to challenge him, refuting suggestions that success would change him.

After defeating Florian Vermeersch (Lot Soudal) and Van der Pol in the rain and mud of the Roubaix velodrome in the northern hell last October, the Italian rolled around on the velodrome grass with a mixture of tears of joy and incredulous laughter.

Colbrelli has always been a consistent sprinter and classic rider, but his Paris-Roubaix victory took him to a new level, especially in Italy.

"People say I don't realize what I did, but when I often look back at my races, I'm happier and prouder of my wins than ever before. But I haven't changed. I am the same person I was before I won Paris-Roubaix. Colbrelli said via video call from the Bahrain-Victorias training camp in Spain.

"Winning Paris-Roubaix has rewarded me for all the sacrifice and hard work I have put in over the years and has boosted my morale for the future. A lot of people will mark me, but I am one of the biggest riders in the Classics right now. I am proud of that. I want to stay in this position with Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Pol."

Colbrelli is already training seriously, hoping for more success in the spring classics. While Bahrain Victorious has yet to finalize the goals and roles of Damiano Caruso and Mikel Landa in the Grand Tours, Colbrelli has a big early season goal in mind.

"My outline program will be similar to this year. I will start with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuhne Brussel Kuhne, then decide whether to ride Paris - Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico. After that I will ride all the classics, starting with Milan - San Remo and ending with Paris - Roubaix."

"In terms of training, I won't change anything, except that I will train at altitude early in the season, just as I did after the Tour de France. That's the big change."

Colbrelli spent two blocks of the summer training at altitude, losing weight and improving his climbing ability in the Italian Alps; in the first block, he built the form that would win him the Italian national title, and in the second block, the late-season peak, in Trento European title over Lemco Evenpoel, and of course laid the foundation for his Paris-Roubaix triumph.

"Winning the Italian National Championships changed me and led to other successes.

"My aggressive finish at the Italian Championships, winning something I had never won before, changed me. That's how I did it in the second half of the season and it worked. This result proves that I can race with the biggest riders in the sport."

Colbrelli will headline Bahrain Victorious' classics campaign, but Matej Mohoric confirmed in a separate call that he will also target the classics after winning a stage at the Tour de France in 2021. Bahrain Victorious will look to strengthen its Classics team around Colbrelli and continue the success of Gino Mader, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Mohoric, and Dylan Theuns.

"We will have a strong team, and I will not be the only leader," Colbrelli stated.

"I have strong players like Matej Mohoric, Heinrich Haussler, and Fred Wright beside me. They will be important in the Classic."

"If I am not at my best, I will be the first to help a teammate like Matei. I have done that in the Benelux Tour and I will do it again this time. We have shown our strengths in the past and we are competitive."