Robert de Wilde

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Robert de Wilde
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Personal information
Full name Robert de Wilde
Nickname "Afro Bob", "The Flying Dutchman"
Born (1977-04-30) April 30, 1977 (age 46)
Kampen, the Netherlands
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Team information
Current team Redline Bicycles
Discipline Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
Role Racer
Rider type Off Road
Amateur team(s)
1994-1999 GT Bicycles (Europe)
Professional team(s)
1999-2001 GT Bicycles (Europe)
2001-? Giant Bicycles
2004-2006 Staats Bicycles
2006 Troy Lee Designs
2006-Present Redline Bicycles/Troy Lee Designs
Infobox last updated on
August 30, 2008

Robert de Wilde (born April 30, 1977 in Kampen) is a Dutch professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1990–2003. His nicknames are "The Flying Dutchman"[1] in reference to his speed and his nationality and "Afro-Bob" because of his long wild, uncombed hair.[2] He was chosen for the Dutch BMX Olympic team to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics games in Beijing, China where he reached the Quarter Finals.

Racing career milestones

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

Started Racing: 1982 at the age of five years. A friend got him into it.[3]

Sanctioning Body:

First race result:

First win (local):

First sponsor:

First national win:

Turned Professional: January 1999 at the age of 21 years. During 1999 and prior de Wilde was one of only three total pros Europe ever had (Dylan Clayton and Wilco Groenendaal were the other two)[4] due to the nature of racing rules with the European sanctioning bodies at the time, which did not permit a full pro class in which an unlimited amount of money can be earned by the racer at a race.

First Professional race result (Netherlands/Europe):

First Professional race result (US):

First Professional win (Netherlands/Europe):

First Professional win (US):

First Junior Pro* win (Netherlands/Europe):

First Junior Pro* win (US):

First Senior Pro** race result (Netherlands/Europe):

First Senior Pro** race result (US):

First Senior Pro win (Netherlands/Europe):

First Senior Pro win (US):

Retired: Still active.

Height & weight at height of his career (1999–2006): Ht:6'2" Wt:215 lbs.

*In the NBL it is "B"/Superclass/"A" pro (beginning with 2000 season), in Europe Superclass; in the ABA it is "A" pro.
**In the NBL it is "A" pro/All Pro/"AA" Pro/Elite men (all depending on the era); in Europe Elite Men; in the ABA it is "AA" pro.

Career factory and major bike shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

Amateur/Junior Men

  • GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles (European Division)/Chevy: January 1994[5] -October 2001. De Wilde would turn pro (at least in the US) with this sponsor.

Professional/Elite Men

File:Robert de wilde-crop.jpg
The famous "Afro".
  • GT Bicycles(European Division)/Chevy: January 1994-October 2001
  • Giant Bicycles: Late December 2001- De Wilde's public debut on the new Giant team was the 2001 NBL Christmas Classic national on December 27, 2001.[6]
  • Staats Bicycles/Troy Lee Designs/Maxxis: January 2004-June 27, 2006. De Wilde says in his blog he left Staats the Tuesday before the NBL Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania nationals.[7]
  • Troy Lee Designs/Maxxis July 1, 2006 – October 3, 2006. Troy Lee Designs and Maxxis were his primary sponsors between Staats and Redline.
  • Redline Bicycles/Troy Lee Designs/Maxxis: October 3, 2006–Present. De Wilde is under contract with Redline Bicycles (now owned by the Accell Group, a Dutch company) through 2008 and will race the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China sponsored by Redline.[8][9]

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur/Junior Men

File:2007 UCI BMX SUpercross World Cup Men Award Ceremony.jpg
Robert de Wilde, winner of the Supercross World Cup 2007 in Fréjus on October 13th 2007
  • 1990,'92,'93,'94,'95,'98 Dutch National champion.

Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU)

Nederlandse Fietscross Federatie (NFF)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

  • None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • 1995, 1999 World Cup Champion

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

  • 1993 16 boys World Champion
  • 1994 17 Junior Bronze Medal World Champion

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

  • 1995 Junior Men World Cup Champion

*See note in Professional section.

Professional/Elite Men

Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU)

Nederlandse Fietscross Federatie (NFF)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • 2001 "AA" Pro World Champion

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

  • None

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

  • None

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

  • 1999 Elite Men World Champion
  • 1999 Elite Men World Cup Champion
  • 1999 Elite Men European Champion
  • 2000 Elite Men European Champion
  • 2005 Elite Men Supercross Champion
  • 2005 Elite Men Pan Pacific Champion
  • 2007 20" UCi Series Champion

*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.

International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Games of the XXIX Olympiad (2008 Summer Olympics)
Dutch National BMX Teammates: Rob van den Wildenberg, Raymon van der Biezen, Lieke Klaus.
Location: Beijing, China
Number of competitors: 32
Positions:
Event Results Wednesday August 20
Men's First Seeding Run‡: 36.803sec.
Men's Second Seeding Run: 50.268sec.
Seconds behind leader: +1.111 (23rd place).
Seeding Run leader: Mike Day  United States
De Wilde advances to Quarterfinals†
Men's Quarter Finals (Overall after three motos of Run 3): 7th place; did not qualify for Semi Final*.
Event Results Thursday August 21
Postponed due to rain. Rescheduled.
Event Results Friday August 22
Men's Semi Finals*: DNQ
Men's Final (Medal Round): DNQ
Bronze medal winner: Donny Robinson  United States
Silver medal winner: Mike Day  United States
Gold medal winner:** Māris Štrombergs  Latvia
DNQ= Did Not Qualify.
‡Time Trial data from nbcolympics.com
†Quarter Finals data from nbcolympics.com
*Semi Finals data from nbcolympics.com
**Final (Medal round) data from nbcolympics.com

Independent Invitationals and Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

Significant injuries

  • Broke elbow at the UCI World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky in July 2001. He crashed on the second jump in the first straight being laid up, he missed the X-Games as a result.[10]
  • Broke collar bone at the UCI World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the weekend of July 30, 2006[11]

Racing traits and habits

  • Doesn't comb or at least mat down his hair after he removes his helmet, resulting in a phenomenon called "helmet/hat hair" in which the hair on a person's head becomes either severely tussled or conversely molded into the shape of the headwear after wearing that headwear for an extended period of time. De Wilde's habit of not attending to hair care after removing his helmet and it being severely tussled as a result led to his moniker of "Afro Bob", a reference to the "Afro" style of "hairdo" that was popular with people of African descent, particularly during the 1970s (it has made something of a comeback in recent years). Image of his hair

Miscellaneous

Post BMX career

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BMX press magazine interviews and articles

  • "Robert de Wilde" Transworld BMX April 2003 Vol.10 Iss.4 No.78 pg.70

BMX magazine covers

Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career(s) are listed unless specifically noted.

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

  • None

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

  • None

BMX Plus!:

Total BMX:

  • None

Bicycles and Dirt:

  • None

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

Moto Mag:

  • None

BMX World:

  • August/September 2006 Vol.1 Iss.5 (77) ahead of Kyle Bennett (67) Jerrett Kolich (198) and Greg Romero (100)

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL publication under two names):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA publication under three names):

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ expn athletes bio.
  2. ↑ March 31, 2007 Sarasota Herald Tribune article.
  3. ↑ bmxstars.com Profile.
  4. ↑ 1999 Fatbmx profile of de Wilde.
  5. ↑ Gerrit Does's University of BMX/Old & New(s)/"Does" Factory Teams (pulldown menus)
  6. ↑ Totalbike.com article on the new Giant Bicycles racing team/
  7. ↑ De Wilde's Sponsorhouse blog diary. Pertinent information near bottom of page.
  8. ↑ fatbmx.com article on de Wilde's signing with Redline (top of page).
  9. ↑ Singapore Cycling Forums pic of de Wilde's signing at Interbike (near bottom of page).
  10. ↑ Transworld BMX November 2001 Vol.8 Iss.11 No.61 pg.38
  11. ↑ Nebbmx.com news site.

External links

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