The 2021 season marks Peter Sagan's 12th year in cycling's top league, and there is no doubt that the Slovak has become the sport's biggest superstar over the past decade.Procycling magazine' (opens in new tab )' (March 2021 issue) features an exclusive interview with the Slovakian rider, who missed the Classics to make his Giro d'Italia debut last fall and plans to return to cobblestone racing in the new season.

At last year's Giro, Sagan scored a stunning victory on stage 10 from a long-distance breakaway, his only win of the season. However, in an interview with Barry Ryan, Sagan explained why victory and defeat are separated by the smallest of margins.

"The key is to understand why you can't win 22 or 23 races a year," he said. 'But it's not about getting frustrated, it's about dealing with it. Basically, you just have to accept it."

Another rider entering his 12th season as a professional is Ashley Moolman-Pasio from South Africa, who joined SD Worx this year and became eSport World Champion last winter. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Moolman Passio has long been one of the most consistent riders in the world, but surprisingly has never won a World Tour race. She tells Procycling reporter Edward Pickering how she has tried to change that.

"Over the years I had to learn how to get in touch with my instincts. It took a lot of discipline and training to turn off my brain. The brain automatically wants to override everything, so I had to work on getting in touch with my body, my senses, my bike, my instincts. I'm not perfect yet, but I'm much better."

One of the races Mourman Pacio is likely to compete in this spring is the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, the oldest race in women's World Tour cycling dating back to 1974. Maria David looks at the history of this Italian classic, said to be the closest race to a monument, and explores the secrets of its long success.

In the next installment of our "State of the Nation" series, Matt Rendell takes a look at the Colombian cycling scene. The sport may be booming in this South American country, with more top-level professional athletes than ever before and stars who inspire the entire country, but the statistics hide a structural problem.

Elsewhere, Etoile de Besseges was the first race on the European men's calendar this year. Peter Kosins was on the ground in France to witness the rebirth of this humble 50-year-old race.

Trek-Segafredo's Jasper Steiven talks to Sophie Halcomb about what to expect in the spotlight of Belgian cycling, while Thomas Oelsthorn has more on the new women's team, Jumbo Visma, which is set to make its debut in the peloton. We hear more about their ambitions.

Victor Kampenaerts was among the players lined up at Omloop Het Niusbrod on the opening weekend at the end of February. The Belgian Qhubeka Assos rider will make his debut in a cobblestone race this spring, but he told Sophie Halcomb why he is branching out from time trials to one-day and aggressive races this season.

"Last year I reached a really high level in time trials," she said. But compared to the rest of the field, Ganna, Lemko, and Wout have reached a completely different level, and it's not easy to close the gap."

Harvey Sykes remembers Polish cyclist Ryszard Szulkowski, a great rider from the Eastern Bloc who won the Peace Race four times; the 75-year-old, who dominated the amateur scene in the 1970s, passed away on February 1. In a retro feature, William Fotheringham looks back on the career of one of France's archetypal professionals, Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle.

The March issue also features Kevin Reza, Brody Chapman, Charlie Quarterman, and a full complement of regulars, including Dan Martin and columnist Lawrence ten Dam.

Procycling magazine (opens in new tab): the best writing and photos from inside the world's toughest sport. Pick one up now at your local newsstand or supermarket or subscribe to Procycling (opens in new tab).