Having ridden for Aqua Blue Sport for the past two years but lost his ride when the Irish team collapsed back in August, there is a change of direction now in store for Dutch cyclist Michel Kreder (Photo: Karen M Edwards)
Having been an Aqua Blue Sport rider when the team abruptly stopped in August, Michel Kreder has landed a new team but will also work next year.
He has told the Dutch site wielerflits.nl that he will ride at Continental level in 2019. Furthermore, he has also opened a news business with his brothers.
The company will coach riders and run clinics for teams and individual athletes.
The 31-year-old will ride for the Ningxia Sports Lottery-Livall Continental team based in China. Next season will be his 14th in the pro peloton.
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He spent four seasons with the Garmin WorldTour team and rode for Aqua Blue Sport this year and last.
Kreder said he will compete in fewer races next season when he returns to Continental level. But with a partner and two children, that suited him.
And it also meant he could grow his business with his brothers when he wasn’t away racing.
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Michel Kreder winning the second of two stages at the Tour de Méditerranéen in 2012, an event he took 2nd overall in.
He said he was “super happy” that a “new adventure” had opened up for him at this stage of his career.
"I will mainly ride an Asian program, just like my brother Raymond,” he said. “I will ride fewer races, I wanted that myself.
“I have a partner and two children at home. I wanted to be away from home a little less often. Many teams could not offer that and Ningxia did. I was very happy with that.”
He planned to ride the Tour of Qinghai Lake in July and the two tours of China in September. The team was also finalising other races.
“I'm going to supplement that with a couple of races that I will ride for my club Trias from The Hague,” he said.
Working and racing not a set-back
Kreder added the business he was opening, with brothers Raymond and Stefan, was exciting for him.
"Many people see this as a step back to Continental level. But actually this is a double chance,” he said.
He had been considering opening a business for the last 18 months. But while he was doing that in the year ahead, he still wanted to race strongly.
To date he has taken 10 victories in UCI-ranked races including two stages in Tour Méditerranéen. Last year he was 3rd overall in the Arctic Race of Norway.
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