Set to join the Rompoot team in 2015, Michel Kreder ended his career as a Wanty rider successfully. In the weekend, the Dutchman finished 10th in Giro dell'Emilia and 11th in GP Beghelli.

The Coppa Sabatini, Giro dell'Emilia and the GP Bruno Beghelli were the last races of the Italian road season. Wanty-Groupe Gobert travelled to Italy with an ambitious team where Michel Kreder was one of the strongest. 

Two 1.HC races and one of the 1.1 category awaited Jérome Baugnies, Frederik Backaert. Mirko Selvaggi, Danilo Napolitano, Kevin Seeldraeyers, Marco Minnaard, Francis de Greef, Michel Kreder and sports director Steven De Neef. 

With a 17th place in the Coppa Sabatini, 10th in the Giro dell'Emilia and 11th in GP Beghelli, Dutchman Kreder was the best of the team.

"I think we can be happy, Unfortunately Baugnies doesn't have the super legs on Thursday. Otherwise he would have been top ten," De Neef says. "The same goes for Napolitano who fell ill on Saturday night. He couldn't ride on Sunday."  

The sports director was impressed by Kreder on Saturday. The rider is also happy with how his last race for Wanty-Groupe Gobert panned out. 

"I am happy because I still feel very strong at the end of the season," he explains. "I hoped to be good in the second half of the season. In Spring I had problems with my teeth. That also made it harder to fight off viruses and colds and therefore I rode less well. But I had root canal surgery and then it went better. I could start build up towards the second half of the season."

Kreder came from Garmin-Sharp this year and is a rider of the puncheur-type. He immediately showed that early on in the year for Wanty-Groupe Gobert. "My best season result was a fourth place on the Drome Classic in March. I felt that shape coming back in the last weeks in Italy." 

"Yesterday in the Giro dell'Emilia, the hardest of the three races here, a tenth place was the maximum I could achieve. The local circuit had a 2 kilometre climb with gradients over 10%. That makes it hard to stay at the front of the race." 

The GP Beghelli on Sunday offered the peloton local circuits as well. "But this time the climb was shorter and less demanding. Then a larger group remains together. We did try something with Selvaggi and Baugnies but we were caught at 5 kilometres from the line." 

For the puncheur it was time to change tactics quickly and prepare the sprint. "I could have done better in positioning myself and I could have finished better than 11th today but all in all I am happy with how my season with Wanty-Groupe Gobert came to an end." 

Next year Michel and Wesley Kreder will be part of the new Roompot-Orange Cycling Team where Michel's younger brother Raymond will also join them.

"The end of the season causes mixed emotions. I am still feeling very strong on the bike but on the other hand I do look forward to spending time with my girlfriend and our son," he says with a smile.