For the first time since he turned pro, Dan Martin is facing a season away from a team under the Slipstream Sports name. The 29 year old Irishman is leaving the team for 2016, and Etixx-QuickStep looks the most likely destination for the two-time Monument winner.

The Irishman says he is moving teams as he feels his progress has stalled slightly and he needs a change of scenery.

“I’ve kind of seen in the last couple of years that perhaps my level of progression hasn’t continued in the same vein so maybe a move will lead not so much to change in direction of my career but a refresh,” Martin told Cyclingnews in Estepona on Tuesday morning ahead of stage 4 of the Vuelta a España. “I’m excited to have a new challenge.”

However, the rider will never forget what Jonathan Vaughters and the Slipstream Sports organization has done for him and his career, developing him from big talent to one of the stars of the peloton.

“This is a team that’s been so important to making me the rider I am today, so I’m excited to have this opportunity to finish off this period of my career in style,” Martin said. “I came to this team a few years before Andrew (Talansky) but we’ve both grown together in the team and it’s the last time we’ll be riding in the same jersey for the immediate future.

“At the end of the day, when the flag goes down, the racing instinct is still going to come through, you forget about the sentimental aspect and you just go for it. But this team has been like a family to me, I’ve been here for so long. But the future is exciting.”

Martin isn’t putting a target on his Vuelta goal, but five stages in he is still sitting fifth on GC. But he says he has had a long year and isn’t sure how his body will react once the real high mountains are reached this weekend and next week.

“I’ve got no idea where my form’s at really because I haven’t done a whole lot of training since San Sebastian. The freshness isn’t there like it is when you don’t do the Tour,” he said. “The last two days have been incredibly hard and the heat doesn’t help."

“We’ll take it day by day because I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to be in the final general classification or not. That second week is a bit of an unknown as far as how the legs and body will hold up after a long year. Mentally I’m hungrier than ever but we’ll have to see if my body can handle it.”