Italy's Matteo Trentin has called for 2021 to be the year of safety in professional cycling, following the many accidents and injuries that occurred during the rescheduled 2020 season.

Trentin is widely known as one of the most intelligent riders in the peloton, always speaking up for riders' rights and safety. He and Philippe Gilbert represented the CPA Riders Association at a series of special UCI meetings on safety in recent weeks, where many new safety measures were announced, including standards for barriers in the finish straight.

Rider safety has been a major issue since the season restarted in August. At the Tour de Pollogne, Fabio Jacobsen collided with Dylan Groenewegen in a downhill sprint and suffered life-threatening injuries when he hit an unstable barrier.

Last week, the UCI announced a wide range of new safety measures that will be rolled out in phases in men's and women's cycling road races in 2021, including the creation of safety managers at competitions, a database of incidents, and improved security and barrier standards in competition finish areas.

"Safety must be a priority in 2021," Trentin told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday, calling for professional cycling to follow the improvements made by other sports and better protect its riders.

"We have made a series of suggestions and are on the right track. The rules are old, have never been updated, and do not follow the evolution of cycling; other sports, such as Formula 1, MotoGP, and even ice skating, are doing much better than we are," Trentin explained.

"We want to re-evaluate our use of barriers. They have to be made safer near the finish and not injure people if they bump into them. It should not just separate us from the spectators. There is also a problem with the cars and bikes in the race. There are too many of them, they are passing too fast and too close together."

Trentin will run for UAE Team Emirates in 2021 after the demise of the CCC team. The team's contract was eventually bought out by the Belgian Intermarché-Wanty Gobert team, but Trentin had already signed a contract with UAE Team Emirates as a key player in the Classic.

"Last year, I was contacted by UAE Team Emirates, but nothing happened. Then this year, when the CCC issue came to light, we started talking again," he explained.

"We quickly reached a deal and I am happy to work with so many people I know. I live in Monte Carlo and I train a lot with Formolo, Conti, Gaviria, and Pogachar."

Trentin raced the Tour de France and the Classics in September and October, but was hampered by a crash in Milan-San Remo in early August. His best result was third in Ghent-Wevelgem.

"There are no excuses, 2020 was a bad year for me. The crash in Milan-San Remo caused a lot of problems and dragged on for a long time. But honestly, I expected more," he candidly admitted.

"Having to find a new team certainly didn't help, but when you are racing you have to stay focused.

Trentin is constantly striving to improve his professional cycling, sacrificing his personal time to represent his peers; after a nine-year career, he understands the problems of the sport and has found some solutions.

"The cycling world is not doing well economically, the COVID-19 pandemic is hurting everyone, but there is still a lot of passion for the sport. We must capitalize on this trend," he suggested.

"Young people want to be in touch with events, but we are losing that aspect; when you watch an F1 race, you feel like you are sitting with the driver. We too must find ways to modernize the sport."