Samuel Sanchez will always be associated with Euskaltel-Euskadi after spending 13 years with the team prior to it folding, but he says he has now found a new family, similar to his Basque one, at BMC, where he is entering his third year.

“Jim [Ochowicz – BMC general manager – ed.] is a person with whom I can speak very directly. At every point since the start of the year he told me that the decision to continue would be mine, that I had a place in BMC. I had the space to focus on my cycling,” Sanchez tells Cyclingnews, alluding to the fact that this is his first winter camp with the team after signing late in 2014 and then not renewing with the team until early 2015 last season.

Sanchez spoke about how he feels like he belongs at the American team and that the team has given him new life despite his age, 38.

“For me BMC is my new family, and I’m loving being here,” he says of his new home. “My teammates are great, they see me as an immortal figure, like a father, even if my mentality is like that of a child receiving his first bike.”

Sanchez is hopeful that 2016 will be even better than 2015, as he has had more preparation. The Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Tour and Ardennes Classics are once again targets, but he also will make debuts in the Tour de Suisse and Tour of California, as he enjoys new experiences with the team.

“I think that 2016 will go much better than 2015,” he says, optimism still shining through, “because I’ve already begun to train well, I’m really relaxed, and I don’t have the uncertainty of not knowing if I’m going to race or not.”