Daniel Moreno has returned to Movistar, where he rode for the team back in 2008 and 2009 when they were Caisse d’Epargne. The veteran Spaniard wasn’t wanted at Katusha despite a great second half of the year, and will now work for Alejandro Valverde while also chasing some more personal success in his final seasons as a pro.

 As for why he left Katusha after five years, Moreno tells Cyclingnews “it was clear from pretty early on in the season that they [the management] didn’t want me [for 2016]. The day after Liege, in fact, they told me that.”

“Then at the end of the year, after Lombardia, there was a chance of continuing in the team, but by that point I wasn’t keen. I wanted a fresh start. It wasn’t ever a problem with the riders, I got on well with Joaquim Rodriguez and with the Russian riders, they’re very good teammates. But there was an issue with the team management, a communication problem.”

Now he hopes for the fresher surroundings at Movistar to give him a chance to experience new things in new surroundings, which can help him win more races. He only struck once in the last two seasons despite lots of good placings, such as second in Il Lombardia this autumn.

“Movistar is definitely going to be a way of re-booting the system,” Moreno said. “Sometimes, if you’re on the same team for too long, you can fade away and this is like a new challenge.”

“Obviously trying to win the Tour de France with Nairo is one of the biggest goals of the season. With Joaquim, it was getting harder to beat certain riders but Nairo can win the Tour, and trying to help him to do that is going to be something special.”

Moreno says he will back up Alejandro Valverde in the Ardennes Classics and is he falters, Moreno can step up and win, like he did when he won the 2013 Fleche Wallonne after teammate Rodriguez, who was defending champ, wasn’t fit enough to contest the win.

Moreno has one last goal for 2016, the Rio Olympics. But with Rodriguez, Contador and Valverde all targeting the race, winning will be very difficult when you are not even leading your own nation.

“It’s a life-long objective and this year is the one where I can do the best there, in terms of the route. I’ll have good form from the Tour, I’m good at the Classics and at the end of the day, Rio is going to be a very hard one-day race. Why wouldn’t I be able to do a good ride there?”