Eros Capecchi (1986) will celebrate his tenth year as a professional next year as he joins the Astana team of Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru after three anonymous years with the Movistar Team. "Everything went wrong," he says as he is ready to take another direction in his career, admitting that he has not achieved what was expected of him. "In life you have to recognize how far you can get," he tells BiciCiclismo. "I have no doubt about my quality, but I'm missing something," he adds, and thus hopes to find his best version and "being a good rider”

Capecchi admits that he has "certainly" not met expectations that were created in 2006, but expects to do better. "I have the age which is usually the best for an athlete, between 29 and 34, and am steadily getting better. Look at Rebellin who is 45! I know one thing with certainty: the Eros of recent years is not the right one. It is not too late to prove myself and I hope to regain my early career," he says.

"I have no doubt about my quality,” he explains. “I only need to start to ride, take the weight off the shoulders and get confidence. I know I can be a good rider. Above all, I have missed consistency over the years, both when it comes to winning and to working. I want to be more regular. These three years have showed me that. When we won the Giro with Nairo, Eusebio (Unzue, manager) said on the stage to Val Martello 'here I have forgiven everything, from now on you have to give everything you have." And in that stage, I worked a lot and did so until the end of the Giro. That made me grow a lot. And so the pressure is not a problem.”

He accepts that he is not a leader like Valverde, Quintana, Nibali or Aru. "Like them I have quality, an engine or whatever you want, but something is missing. There are so many things .... From now on I just want to get the most out of myself and see how far I can get. If I'm good in a race, I have the quality to win, but a team cannot base a season on me and I cannot take that responsibility. Only a madman would do so. At 29 years of ago, I cannot be a leader," he says.

His role is to be a good team player, to serve his leaders. "In life you have to know how far you can get. I started with expectations of being a great rider and probably my data supported me. But there are more factors if you want to be among the best in the world. The engine is not enough. I have realized that I can do this job smoothly for many years. So far I have not been able to have consistency in my results. And in this world we must take a path at any given time. If you are 22-23 years old, you can insist on a direction, but already at 29, almost 30, you have to decide where you want to go. For me it would be a great honor to be recognized as a good domestique, "he says.

A new opportunity has opened at Astana. "It's an environment that I know well. I know how to work, I know the leaders ... I am aware that if I am good, I can do my job without problem. And I think that Astana may assess my characteristics as a rider. I do not worry about this. Moreover, cycling is very important and I would love to have results and above all show what I can do, but life is more than that. I want to have good feelings, not like last year when I got nothing. I felt incomplete," he says.

"Normally, I will have the same schedule as Nibali so I will start in Argentina. I want to do well in all races and I am eager to leave behind the past two years. Nibali and I raced together in the same amateur team and practically turned professional together. The Giro is a big target for him. I won it with Nairo, but I never had a chance to win the Giro and the Tour with Nibali when we rode together. It would be a dream come true," he says.

Valverde and Quintana were leaders at the Movistar Team. "They are incredible. Bala (Valverde) has proved it this year ... I like him because he keeps winning at 35 years of age. For me, he gives a lot of hope. And Nairo has everything to continue to win, age, great quality ... The results speak for themselves." At Astana he has Nibali and Aru. "They represent the same, more or less. Nibali is younger than Bala and Aru is the same age as Quintana and both have already won a grand tour. Right now Nibali is the world's best grand tour rider due to his palmares. He has had a poor season and was fourth in the Tour and has won Lombardy! And he can win classics too. Above all, the four leaders know how to do well," he says.

Capecchi has left the Movistar Team after another anonymous year. 

"The team and I expected more and it did not go as we wanted, but the team has done very well. I'm sorry because they have always supported me and believed in me. This is what frustrates me. They were the three most meticulous years of my life and everything went wrong. So I want to forget these three years as soon as possible. I seemed to be cursed because I did not get anything, and I want to have a good season with Astana. I have my heart with the whole team and the Movistar family. I talked to Eusebio by phone from time to time without problem... I have not had issues with anyone. My relationship was good and I want to thank everybody for three unforgettable years. As a result, I've had my satisfactions: Nairo’s win in the Giro. But it is clear that I did not deliver what I wanted.”

"I have not missed anything in particular,” he adds. “This year was not bad until the Giro when Eusebio asked me to do the Tour and I loved the idea; however, there were too many riders for the Tour and then the season was almost over. It is useless to look back. There were no physical problems like in the past years. I simply missed the Tour and the Giro and as I did not renew, it was natural that I was not selected for the Vuelta. You always learn from everything. I raced with great riders and have lived in a different environment to that of Liquigas and Astana in a completely Spanish team. I think I've learned the language very well, how to train, how to work…”