Thomas Dekker (cyclist)

Thomas Dekker
Dekker at the 2013 Tour of Alberta
Personal information
Full nameThomas Dekker
Born (1984-09-06) 6 September 1984 (age 40)
Dirkshorn, Netherlands
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight69 kg (152 lb; 10.9 st)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Professional teams
2003–2004Rabobank GS3
2004→ Rabobank (stagiaire)
2005–2008Rabobank
2009Silence–Lotto
2011Chipotle–Garmin Development Team
2012–2014Garmin–Barracuda
Major wins
Stage races
Tirreno–Adriatico (2006)
Tour de Romandie (2007)

Single-day races and Classics

National Time Trial Championships (2004, 2005)

Thomas Dekker (born 6 September 1984) is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career highlights included winning Tirreno–Adriatico in 2006 and Tour de Romandie in 2007. He won two Dutch National Time Trial Championships and represented his country at the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece.

A few days before the start of the 2009 Tour de France, it was announced that Dekker had tested positive for EPO in a retroactive test carried out on a urine sample taken in December 2007. Dekker initially protested his innocence but he later admitted to using EPO, claiming it was a one-time mistake.[1][2] He eventually admitted to using EPO over at least parts of the 2007 and 2008 seasons, although he declined to give exact dates.[3] Dekker was suspended for two years, from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2011.[4][5]

Dekker's career has been marked by other doping allegations. He was a client of Luigi Cecchini, an Italian doctor who was investigated in relation to doping matters, though Dekker adamantly denies that Cecchini was involved in his doping.[6][7][8] In 2009 he was also questioned in the Humanplasma doping scandal, a suspected doping ring connected to Austrian manager Stefan Matschiner.[9] Dekker retired in March 2015 after narrowly failing to set a new world hour record.[10]

  1. ^ "Dekker protests his innocence; L'Equipe hints at more doping". Monsters and Critics. 2009-07-02. Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. ^ Gregor Brown (30 September 2009). "Dekker's Counter-analysis Positive For EPO". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  3. ^ Daniel Benson (2010-07-29). "Thomas Dekker: A Doper's Desire For Redemption". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  4. ^ "Thomas Dekker To Return In Sint-Niklaas". Cyclingnews.com. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  5. ^ Susan Westemeyer (3 March 2010). "Dekker Gets Two-year Suspension For EPO Use". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  6. ^ "Dekker Pressured To Break With Cecchini". Cyclingnews.com. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  7. ^ "Dekker Chooses Cecchini". Cyclingnews.com. 27 January 2006. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  8. ^ Thomas Dekker, Schoon genoeg, Chapter 7.
  9. ^ "Boogerd and Dekker questioned about HumanPlasma doping scandal". Velonation.com. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  10. ^ Cycling News. "Dekker retires fom cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015.