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 to 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 in Beijing, China where he reached the quarter-finals.
Racing career milestones
Started Racing: 1982 at the age of five years. A friend got him into it.[3]
Turned Professional: January 1999 at the age of 21. 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.
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
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
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.[citation needed]
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.
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]
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 tousled 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 tousled 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).
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
BMX World:
August/September 2006 Vol.1 Iss.5 (77) ahead of Kyle Bennett (67) Jerrett Kolich (198) and Greg Romero (100)
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United States
Latvia