Fernando Gaviria made his first public appearance as a Movistar rider at the team's 2023 presentation in Madrid on Wednesday. The Colombian rider joins Movistar on a one-year contract after a difficult time with UAE team Emirates.

"The last three years have been difficult personally, professionally, and humanly. They have been complicated, complex years," Gaviria admitted to El Pais (opens in new tab).

"But now I have turned the page. I am in a new team. Being at Movistar is a special motivation for me. I like the way they treat me and I like the way things have gone so far."

In 2019, after six wins in his debut season with UAE team Emirates, Gaviria got off to a great start the following year with a hat trick at the Vuelta a San Juan.

However, during a tour of the UAE the following month, he contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized for four weeks at the beginning of the global pandemic.

Although he recovered to win three races when the season resumed that summer, Gaviria again tested positive for COVID-19 at the Giro d'Italia, which was postponed by the pandemic.

In his last two seasons with UAE Team Emirates, Gaviria's success was limited to just three wins, and this year's Giro was marked by a series of near misses and mechanical problems in the sprints.

"When you are riding strong, people love you and support you. But when you're not, rumors start and people start talking.

"I didn't come here with anger, I came here to get a good result for the team who took a gamble on me when I wasn't at my best. But they have faith in me and I have faith in them."

Gaviria will make his debut with Movistar at next month's Vuelta a San Juan. Milan-San Remo in the spring is an obvious target, but the rest of the 2023 race program has yet to be determined.

"We are always thinking about Sanremo. It is getting more and more complicated because climbers want it too, but we are already thinking about it," Gaviria said.

"It will be complicated to compete in the Tour de France because the team will only think about Enric Mas. We haven't talked about the Grand Tour yet."