According to himself, Carlos Betancur (1989) will begin a new phase of his career in the Movistar Team" from scratch" and he does so with the certainty that he will return to his best level. The Colombia believes that it is the ideal place to regain stability and get back on his successful track.

His first contact with the Movistar Team in Pamplona last week created a good feeling. "I felt very comfortable. All people working in this team made me adapt very quickly. I am very happy. I am starting from scratch. I am eager to start in a team that has been there for a long time. They make me very confident because they are the number one. I can learn a lot. There is much to learn. There is not a bad rider. I have analyzed the team and they are all very good riders, just like the managers, coaches, Eusebio (Unzue). They are all very professional. And I have to be so myself. Here you ask a favor, and you get it. I think everything will be much easier,” he said in a press release.

His priority is to return to being a competitive rider and winner like he was in 2013 when he broke through with third in Fleche Wallonne, fourth in Liege and fifth in the Giro d'Italia, and in 2014 when he won Paris-Nice. "I want to rediscover myself in this team. It will not be easy but I will try. I am trying to get back and I think I can get there. I think things are going well. I will prepare and I will get it right. In a team like Movistar it would be almost impossible not to succeed. Stability is important. It's a team that suits the type of person I am. So I think that it can only lead to good things. My desire is to regain what I had. I do not care where. It would be a step beyond being happy which would open the doors for me to say 'I'm a rider. Incidentally, it would help me to further convince myself that Carlos Betancur is still there," he says. He is less explicit when it comes to ambitions and he just wants to win in "one way or another, I have wanted to do things right and get more experience.”

Betancur wants to make clean slate. "I always do the maximum. I've had problems, yes, like everyone else, but here I think it will be easier because it is a rather professional team. Apart from the language, the philosophies are different. I have to be grateful to AG2R because they gave me the chance to join the WorldTour. In the end there were some problems that left a bad taste. 2016 will be another thing," he said.

In short, he is happy again after two difficult years. "My family was always at my side. And I have to be grateful to Eusebio because he gave me the chance in his team. And after my suffering in 2014 and 2015, I think everything will be easier. I talked to my wife and she said ‘you were not happy but now you are' and I said 'yes, I'm happy', since I knew I was coming to Movistar. I am a mentally strong person and I look at my goals when I try to achieve them. However, there was something that held me back so I was not able to fight," he added.

Betancur confirms that he will start his year in the Tour de San Luis in Argentina. "It is true that I will do the Ardennes with Valverde and Dani Moreno. I think we will be a strong trio while we are still going to have fun. I also like the Giro. I go step by step. The team does not want me to feel pressure. Things will come," he said.

In principle, he will move to Pamplona. "I want the best for me and my family. I plan to move to Pamplona and it is not a bad idea, though I am aware that I have a wife and a child of eight months. Surely I will live in Pamplona," he confirmed.

Betancur broke through in 2013 when he was third in Fleche Wallonne, fourth in Liege and fifth and best young rider in the Giro d'Italia, after giving signs of his talent in 2011 when he won the Giro Emilia, and in 2012 when he won three races. He was runner-up at the U23 Worlds in 2009. Last year, he won Paris-Nice and the Tour du Haut-Var and was even number one in the WorldTour, but the Race to the Sun was his last victory. In 2015 he was combative in the Giro d'Italia where he finished second in Imola and 20th in the final GC. It was his last race. In August he terminated his contract with AG2R La Mondiale by mutual agreement.

He has been riding for Acqua & Sapone (2011 and 2012) and AG2R La Mondiale (2013-2015) and now begins a new phase of his career with Movistar.