10th at the Trofeo Platja Murro (1.1) in Mallorca, 14th in the Amstel Gold Race (WT) and seventh in Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop (1.HC) - until his heavy crash at the Giro in May, Fabian Wegmannwas "fully satisfied with my season."

"In the Ardennes classics I put in a solid performance and if Dan Martin had not crashed in the final turn at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the final corner, we would have repeated the victory from last year," the three-time German champion told radsport-news.com.

But then Wegmann crashed so hard in the Giro d'Italia that he had to undergo surgery and was out of competition for three months. 

"It was almost the end of my career. That was the biggest setback I have had in my sporting career must plug," said the 34-year-old who destroyed two muscles and a tendon in the accident.

Wegmann's precarious situation was made worse by the merger between the Garmin and Cannondale teams.

"Due to the severity of my injury, it was clear to me that it would be hard to get a new contract," said the classics specialist who could have stayed with the team in a role as sports director. "It was a fair offer and I was close to taking that step."

But then he decided to continue his career. "In the months with rehabilitation and build-up training, I've worked very hard and endured more pain than never before but I still noticed how much fun cycling is for me and how much I am attached to this job," said the German who will be riding for the Danish pro continental team CULT Energy in 2015 and expects t have more freedom.

"The Amstel Gold Race is a big goal for the spring if we get a wildcard. Then I will have the whole team behind me which I have not had in the past few years," he said.

His biggest highlight of the year, however, was not a sporting event, but "the birth of my daughter. I had just been released from hospital for one day when she was born five weeks too early. We were somewhat surprised, but Leni has helped me a lot to not only think about my injury," said Wegmann who was back in the saddle faster than expected.

"In the beginning, the doctors had told me that it would take at least six months before I would race again and that I would have to lie in bed for the first six weeks. Hence, the 13th place at the Tour of Alberta less than four months after my crash was already something of a sporting highlight," said the veteran who wants to ride at least two more years at the highest level.