Pedersen sprinted ahead of Italy's Matteo Trentin and Switzerland's Stefan Küng on Sunday at Harrogate.

Denmark's Mads Pedersen became the 23-year-old cycling world champion Sunday at Harrogate, after a very trying and fast-paced race in the rain.

Pedersen sprinted ahead of Italian Matteo Trentin and Switzerland's Stefan Küng. The favorite, the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, suffered a brutal failure in the last 12 kilometers.