There was a time when Mats Pedersen was the reigning world champion and the rainbow stripes felt like a burden. Pedersen, then a 24-year-old Trek-Segafredo driver, said at the start of the 2020 Classic season, "Everyone thinks the stripes make you 100 times better, but it doesn't work that way."

Now, nearly 12 months later and with his sights set on the 2021 campaign, Pedersen is looking to get older, stronger, and get the jersey back.

"If I had to pick one race to win this year, I would win the world championships," he said at a pre-season press conference, explaining that the pandemic's 2020 replacement of riders deprived him of the chance to wear the rainbow jersey at the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

"It's a shame I won't be able to show my kids pictures of Roubaix in the jersey," he said.

The Dane knows he has a chance to compete in the World Championships road race in Flanders in September, but he also knows there are more pressing issues in the same region this spring. Winning the title in Ghent-Wevelgem has further enhanced his status as a rider in the classics.

"I know I am young, but I don't want to play the card anymore that I have to improve to stay in the game. Now is the time to show how high my level is in every race," he said once and for all.

At the time he was talking about his hopes for the rainbow jersey, Pedersen was humbly saying that his teammate Jasper Stuyven, who had won the Omloop Het Niusbrod the previous afternoon, was still better. Again, things have changed here, and they now seem to have a more equal partnership.

At least from the outside looking in, there appears to be a genuine friendship and warmth between the two.

"Where I think we are a little different from some of the others is that when the other is winning the race, we enjoy it and we want the other to win the race," Pedersen says.

"For me, I wouldn't be disappointed if Jasper had a finale. In Ghent-Wevelgem, if he jumps with the sprinters, I'd be happier with Jasper winning the race. having two cards makes us stronger. This is a pair of kings. Not a bad hand in a poker game."

This "pair of kings" comment is amply supported by the fact that the two of them split two of the six major classics on the cobblestones in 2020. According to Pedersen, this is the flip side of the disastrous spring of 2019, which must now be established as the norm.

"We talked about this year, and it's about time that being together in every final becomes the standard. That's the most important thing for us right now.

"As I have said many times before, I am convinced that we are stronger together than apart and I still believe this.

There is no doubt that Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are the strongest individual riders, getting away together in Flanders, but as they were cleverly used by Pedersen (and Stuyven) in Wevelgem, they are tactical

"In the classical world, where they show their fragility when it comes to tactics, this partnership could be of paramount importance.

"They are not invincible," Pedersen said. 'They are opponents that can be beaten. Just like they can't beat you every time, I can't beat you every time. But I know I can beat them.

Pedersen was asked if there were any gaps in van der Pol, with whom he has been rubbing shoulders since junior days, and he expanded on the tactical possibilities.

"His weakness, if you watch the Harrogate World Championships on YouTube, is with 16km to go.

"I'm kidding myself when I say that. This guy is almost 100 percent. He has days when he doesn't do well, but let's not forget that race was 265 kilometers and he blew up at 250 kilometers.

"Sometimes he plays too much with his muscles instead of thinking, and maybe that's his weakness, but I've been in that situation," Pedersen added.

"When you're young, you think, 'Well, I got a good result, maybe I can do it again,' or 'If I go faster, maybe I can finish off another player faster.' Maybe that happened a few times. That's not a bad thing. We are still young and we have to learn.

Van der Pol will be a big competitor for the rainbow jersey, but there are other jerseys that will catch Pedersen's eye. The 2022 Tour de France will start in Copenhagen, although it was postponed a year due to the pandemic. He makes no secret of the appeal of wearing the yellow jersey, especially on the second stage of the route, which passes near his home.

Likewise, encouraged by two runner-up finishes in bunch sprint finishes, he did not hide his thoughts about green.

"Right now I feel like it's a possibility. Someday, if the Tour is right for it and it suits me, then so be it."

"When I stop cycling, it would be nice to have the green jersey on the wall."

There are plenty of ideas in the pipeline and no shortage of ambition, but Pedersen doesn't want to float, in fact, he keeps his gaze fixed on the task at hand.

"What I learned during the blockade is that you never know which race is the last race. Last year we were able to close everything down from one day to the next.

"That's the mentality for this season and for the rest of my career. I'm going to win every race. It doesn't matter if it's a stage in Burgos or the Tour of Flanders.