Mads Pedersen will go down in history as the first Dane to win a world title in elite men's road racing. He took the prestigious rainbow jersey in the 3-up sprint at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire on Sunday.

Pedersen, 23, collapsed in exhaustion after crossing the finish line, surrounded by teammates who piled on top of him to celebrate his victory.

"It's crazy," Pedersen told the press in Harrogate. 'I didn't have any energy left. I had a cramp when I tried to unclip the pedals. There were so many people around me, I couldn't stand. At one point, four riders had me on the ground, but it was worth it."

"There have been some good athletes in the past and they are still racing. There was Matti Breschel, who won silver and bronze medals. I think it's incredible for the national federation to finally bring home this jersey and the gold medal from the World Championships."

Denmark may have just won its first world title in the men's event, but it has won five medals in the 92-year history of the elite men's world championships: silver for Leif Mortensen in 1970, bronze for Jorgen Marksen in 1978, 1997 Bo Hamburger won a silver medal, Matti Breschel a bronze medal in 2008, and a silver medal in 2010.

Denmark won its first elite road world title in 2016 when Amalie Dideriksen won the women's title in Doha, Qatar.

In Denmark, young talent is making their mark in international competitions and joining the elite ranks. The Danish team that competed in Yorkshire included Michal Valgren, Kasper Asgreen, Magnus Kort Nielsen, and Casper Pedersen. The young riders complemented experienced talent such as Jakob Fuglsang, Christopher Juul Jensen, and Michael Morkov.

Pedersen attributed the success of the young Danish riders in the World Tour peloton to the support of the national federation.

"The junior teams and federations start earlier. 'I was already on the national team when I was 17. Now it's happening more and more [I think junior teams and national federations are becoming more professional.

Pedersen turned pro with Cult Energy in 2014 and joined the World Tour in 2017 with Trek Segafredo; he signed a contract through the end of 2020 and is focused on the Classics. In the last three seasons, he has steadily improved, winning the Tour of Denmark, Tour du Poitou-Charentes, and Tour de Euro-Metropole. Outside of world titles, he finished second behind Niki Terpstra in last year's Tour de Flanders.

Pedersen was considered one of many underdogs at the world championships in Yorkshire. His name was not among the favorites to win, such as Philippe Gilbert, Greg Van Avermaet, Peter Sagan, Julian Alaphilippe, and Mathieu van der Pol. Perhaps that worked in his favor.

The elite men's race, shortened to 261 km, proceeded in bitterly cold and wet conditions, and he emerged as part of the winning breakaway.

On the fifth and final lap, Stefan Küng (Switzerland) initiated the breakaway and Pedersen was joined by Gianni Moscon (Italy) and then Matteo Trentin and Mathieu van der Pol (Netherlands).

Van der Pol lost contact with the breakaway on the last lap, followed by Moscon.

Cung attacked on the climb to the finish, but was caught and passed by Pedersen. Trentin, who was considered the strongest sprinter of the three, led the sprint but was overtaken by Pedersen and ended up with the silver medal.

"I was convinced that Mathieu [van der Pol] and Trentin [Matteo Trentin] would be faster than me in the final," Pedersen said. 'Van der Pol really came at me hard. Moscon did a lot of work, but he had already been dropped once on the climb with a little over a lap to go. I knew he would drop me again on the last climb."

"After that I was just happy to get the medal. But when you run with three guys, you have everything you need to win and nothing to lose. I waited for the sprint to give me a chance and luckily I got the jersey."

Pedersen said there are pros and cons to wearing the rainbow jersey next season. One is that he will no longer be able to fly under the radar at the World Tour level. He said he is open to new challenges.

"Winning a world title would be a big change for every player who has ever been a world champion. I'm done playing the underdog. From now on, that's impossible. It's a new situation for me. I have to race in a new way now."

Pedersen thanked those who have supported him in his relatively short but successful career, including his parents and fiancée, who watched the race from the finish line in Harrogate.

He also thanked his coaches and the National Team Federation for supporting his career from the junior level.

Finally, he thanked the race organization for designing a brutally hard course and the fans who lined the streets to cheer on the race all week.

"Thanks to everyone for getting out on the road in these conditions. It was great to see so many people," Pedersen said. 'The crowds were amazing. I've never seen so many people in a race, especially in bad weather. The course was really hard, but in the end it was good for me."