In the era of ‘super teams’ and without his name being claimed within the famous ‘Big Six’ (Van der Poel, Pogacar, Roglic, Evenepoel, Van Aert, Vingegaard), Pedersen doesn’t need compliments or more confidence: in statements made to giroditalia.it last week, during the Media Day of the team that has given him a contract for life, he shows himself fully aware of his possibilities: “Cycling right now is hard, with a lot of competition, and I have to accept that there are riders with more talent and quality than me, but that doesn’t mean they are unbeatable, and I’ve proven it. And I hope to be able to continue proving it.”

A talent that is based on daily work, and not on the demonstrations that, on the other hand, are increasingly numerous in Pedersen’s palmarès. “Confidence doesn’t come from victories. Rather, it comes from the fact that, before entering a race, I tried to do everything in my power. And when I’ve achieved that, I trust in winning. Even in a Roubaix or a San Remo, when I start against Van der Poel, Van Aert, Ganna… and I’ve done all the perfect preparation, I have the conviction that I can beat those people. I don’t need to have won minor races before the major goals to have that confidence. For me, the big wins are the cherry on top when I’ve done everything correctly.”