Men's road race world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) has issued a warning to his rivals, saying his victory in Yorkshire was only the beginning and that he hopes to win a few key races before finally finishing the race.

The 24-year-old won the rainbow jersey last fall with an impressive performance in Yorkshire. Interviewed by Cycling News at Trek-Segafredo's training camp this winter, the Danish rider cited Paris-Roubaix as his dream race.

"I want to win Paris-Roubaix. I won it as a junior and I want to ride those big cobblestones at home. I know how difficult the classics are, so I'm not saying I'll win this year, but I'd like to run a few more years at the top level if possible. But if I win in Flanders and don't win in Roubaix, I will be proud when my cycling career is over. But I'm still hungry. This is just the beginning. I'm only 24 years old and I want to get better," Pedersen told Cyclingnews.

Pedersen will make his 2020 race debut at the Tour Down Under later this month, followed by the classics at Challenge Mallorca. He will race on the opening weekend in Belgium before leading the powerful Trek-Segafredo team to the Classics. Racing with the rainbow jersey on his back will bring pressure and scrutiny, but one of cycling's most coveted and iconic jerseys will also help Pedersen find inspiration and confidence. From a tactical standpoint, he also believes that his rivals will spend too much time monitoring him and that other Trek-Segafredo riders could take advantage of the situation.

"I'm ready. I think I'm ready. I hope so. Of course, it's a new situation and you have to learn how to race like that. In Denmark they say that when one bad thing happens, another good thing happens. So if a lot of people pay attention to me, it could be good for the team.

"I want to race at the top, at the top level. If I am strong enough, everything is possible. Last spring I was in very bad shape, but I was able to win the World Championships. Now I need to be consistent and reach the top level. You have to believe that you can get to the top every time you race. In terms of power, I have shown I can get there. Maybe it's a mental thing to do that in every race."

Media interest in Pedersen has reached a new level this winter. His victory at the World Championships meant increased sponsorship activity and a flood of interview requests. Pedersen and his team tried to keep his off-the-bike work to a modest amount until he was comfortable with riding as a world champion. He did not even watch him win the world championship.

"I had a chance to watch, but decided not to. I want to leave the initial impression I got from the race as I saw it on the day. I will eventually sit down and watch it, but for now I want to keep the memories as I saw them."

Back in his home country, Pedersen has also turned his attention to giving back to his family, who have supported him since he started cycling. Last September he opened a local bike store, allowing his father to quit his job as a truck driver and work part time in the family business.

"Family is really important to me, and it's important to me to be close to them. My dad works in my bike store. I opened it to give him something to do. We have a mechanic, but he has free time to help me with things like motor pacing. He's been with me since I started biking. We have a really strong bond, stronger than most people have with their fathers. I told him when I was 15 that if I could make enough money cycling and help him stop being a truck driver, I would."

"Cycling was never a part of my family. I started playing soccer and badminton. I started playing team sports, but I didn't really like them. It was always someone else's fault that we lost, and in badminton I broke too many rackets. So my father bought me a bicycle and we rode together. Everything grew from there."