Bas de Bever

Bas de Bever (b. April 16, 1968 from Vught, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands) was a Dutch professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985-1993.

Racing career

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

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Started Racing: 1981

Sanctioning Body:

First race result:

First win (local):

First sponsor:

First national win:

Turned Professional:

First Professional race result (Holland/Europe):

First Professional race result (US):

First Professional win (Holland/Europe):

First Professional win (US):

First Junior Pro* win (Holland/Europe):

First Junior Pro* win (US):

First Senior Pro** race result (Holland/Eruope):

First Senior Pro** race result (US):

First Senior Pro win (Holland/Europe):

First Senior Pro win (US):

Retired: 1995 to race Mountain Bikes (MTB). He actually didn't quit because he thought it was time to move on and try something els after winning all there was to win in BMX. Instead he quit because of the people's attitudes around him. As he stated in an interview concucted by former fellow BMX racer Dale Holmes:

Holmes: "Why did you quit BMX and get into Mountainbikes?"
de Bever: At the time I was totally over the whole euro BMX scene, not the actual racing or riding the bike , cause I still loved that, but more the wining parents bossing their kids around. ---Daleholmes.com 2002

Height & weight at height of his career (1987-1992): Ht:" Wt: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 ever changing 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.

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Amateur

• Vector Bars USA (European Division): 1982
• GT (Gary Turner) Racing (European Division): 1983-1984
• Mongoose/Sinisalo: February 1986-December 1986
• AMEV Nederland b.v.: January 1987-1988 AMEV at the time de Bever was sponsored by them was a life insurance and banking firm. AMEV in Dutch stands for Algemeene Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Verzekeringsmaatschappijen which in English literally translates to General Society To Develop Insurance Companies.

Professional

• Sunn: 1989
• Priemer: 1989
• MCS (Moto Cross Specialties) Bicycle Specialties (European Division): 1990-1991
• Webco Bicycles: 1991-1995. This is not the same famous American pioneering Webco Inc. of the early to late 1970's. This Webco is the West European Bicycle Company created in 1991 by Gerrit Does, the person who introduced BMX to Europe (Holland specifically) and co-founded the IBMXF.

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National and International titles.

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Amateur

Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU)

Nederlandse Fietscross Federatie (NFF)

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• None

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

• 1983 14 Junior World Champion
• 1987 18-24 Cruiser World Champion

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

*See note in Professional section.

Professional

Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU)

Nederlandse Fietscross Federatie (NFF)

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• None

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

• 1988 20" Superclass 4th International Indoor de Tours Champion
• 1989 24" Superclass European Challenge Cup VI
• 1989 Ponypark Competition of Masters Winner
• 1990 20" Superclass 6th International Indoor de Tours Winner
• 1990 20" Superclass European Champion
• 1990 24" Superclass World Champion
• 1991 20" Pro/Am Supercross of BMX Champion
• 1991 24" Superclass World Champion
• 1992 24" Superclass International Indoor Leeuwarden Winner
• 1992 20" Superclass Indoor de Dijon Winner
• 1992 24" Superclass 1st Indoor de Tours Winner
• 1992 24" Superclass European Champion
• 1992 24" Superclass World Champion
• 1994 24" European Champion

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

*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.
Independent Invitationals and Pro Series Championships

Notable accolades

• On January 8, 1988 he was one of three racers awarded the "Sport Support Award" by the Dutch National Olympic Committee for their having the best finishes during 1987.

Peccadilloes

• While he raced a couple of times on the American circuit as a professional (including two ABA Grandnationals), he never attempted to race a complete season. He was content on what he was doing at the time.

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

• None

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

• None

Bicycle Motocross Action:

• None

BMX Plus!:

Bicycles and Dirt:

• None

Snap' & Transworld BMX:

Post BMX career

• In 1994, during his last couple of years of BMX competition, he became a Downhill mountainbiker.
• In november 2005 he was hired by Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU) to be the National Team Coach and Trainer for the Dutch BMX and MTB (Four-cross and Downhill) racing teams and to train them for the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Career Mountain Bike (MTB) Racing Record

Template:Supplemental Cyclist infobox Started racing: 1994 on local level in Neatherlands and Belgium and Germany.

Sub Discipline: Downhill, 4X cross

First race result: In 8th place place in local Belgium race.

Sanctioning body:

Retired: 2004. Currently Coach of the Dutch BMX and MTB National teams teams.

Career MTB factory and major Non-factory 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 MTB press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

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Professional

• VSB-Batavus Cycles:* 1995-1997
• Be One Bicycle Company:* 1998-2004

*Be-One Bikes is a susiduary of Batavus Cycles.

Career Mountain Bike Racing (MTB) titles

Note: Listed are Regional, National and International titles.

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Amateur

No amateur status.

Professional

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

• 1995 World Cup Champion
• 2003 World Cup Champion

National Off Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)

USA Cycling

Independent Race Series and Invitationals

• 2003 Men's Jeep King of Mountain Series Individual Champion

Significant MTB injuries

• Broke collarbone in a collison with a tree during a Downhill event in Japan in 2001. Out for six weeks.

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.
• The Dutch sanctioning body Nederlandse Fietscross Federatie (NFF) Website.
• The Dutch sanctioning body Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU) Website.
• "BMX and More!!", a Dutch English/Dutch language BMX News site.
• November 2001 Decent World Interview.
• daleholmes.com 2002 interview of Bas de Bever.