Robert "Robbie" Hunter (born 22 April 1977) is a retired South African professional road racing cyclist who competed professionally between 1999 and 2013. Hunter competed with UCI ProTeam Garmin–Sharp during his final professional season.[1][2]
 Hunter at the 2010 Tour de Romandie | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Hunter | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Robbie[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 April 1977 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | EF Education–EasyPost | |||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | |||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider (retired) Directeur sportif | |||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Sprinter | |||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Lampre–Daikin | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Mapei–Quick-Step | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Rabobank | |||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Phonak | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Barloworld | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Garmin–Transitions | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Team RadioShack | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Garmin–Barracuda | |||||||||||||||||
| Managerial team | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Garmin–Sharp | |||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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Career
editHunter became the first South African to compete in the Tour de France, when he did so in 2001.[3] In 2006, Hunter rode for Phonak in the UCI ProTour, but after their disbandment he signed for UCI Continental Circuits team Barloworld for 2007. His achievements include winning stages at the 1999 and 2001 Vuelta a Españas, the 2007 Tour de France, and the overall title at the 2004 Tour of Qatar, as well as the points classification at the 2004 Tour de Suisse.
In 2007, Hunter returned to the Tour de France as team captain of Barloworld. Hunter won sprint stage 11, the first stage won by an African.[4][5]
Following the 2013 season, Hunter retired from professional cycling.[6][7] Hunter was a directeur sportif for Garmin–Sharp in 2014 and 2015. In November 2015 he announced that he was leaving the team in order to spend more time with his family and concentrate on his role as a rider agent for a number of African cyclists, including Louis Meintjes.[8]
Hunter worked as the video assistant commissaire at the 2018 Tour de France.
Personal life
editCareer achievements
editMajor results
edit- 1999
- Vuelta a España
- 1st
Sprints classification
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st
- 2000
- 1st
Time trial, National Road Championships
- 2nd Overall Ronde van Nederland
- 1st
Points classification
- 1st
Young rider classification
- 1st Stages 2 & 3
- 1st
- 2nd EnBW Grand Prix (with Oscar Camenzind)
- 3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
- 3rd Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
- 2001
- 1st Tour de Rijke
- 1st Stage 17 Vuelta a España
- 9th Overall Ronde van Nederland
- 1st
- 1st
- 2002
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Pologne
- 2nd Overall Tour de Langkawi
- 1st
- 1st Stages 1 (ITT), 2 & 5
- 1st
- 2nd Grote Prijs Jef Scherens
- 5th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 6th Gent–Wevelgem
- 7th Road race, Commonwealth Games
- 2003
- 4th Tour de Picardie
- 10th Trofeo Cala Millor
- 2004
- 1st
Overall Tour of Qatar
- 1st Stages 3 & 5
- Tour de Suisse
- 1st Stages 3 & 5
- Uniqa Classic
- 1st
- 1st Stages 1 & 3
- 1st
- 1st Stage 4b Sachsen-Tour
- 5th International Grand Prix Doha
- 2005
- 1st International Grand Prix Doha
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Volta a Catalunya
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Georgia
- 1st Stage 4 Setmana Catalana
- 1st Stage 5 Tour Méditerranéen
- 8th Trofeo Luis Puig
- 2006
- African Road Championships
- 1st
Time trial
- 3rd
Road race
- 1st
- 4th Overall Tour of Qatar
- 2007
- 1st
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st
Overall Tour de Picardie
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st Stage 11 Tour de France
- 1st Stage 2 Clasica Alcobendas
- 1st Stage 5 Giro del Capo
- 3rd Coppa Bernocchi
- 4th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi
- 10th Milan–San Remo
- 10th Grand Prix Pino Cerami
- 2008
- 1st Stage 4 GP CTT Correios de Portugal
- 1st Cape Argus Cycle Tour
- 4th Memorial Viviana Manservisi
- 8th Overall Giro della Provincia di Grosseto
- 2009
- 1st Stage 3 Giro del Trentino
- 1st Stage 4 Tour Méditerranéen
- 3rd Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi
- 9th Overall Delta Tour Zeeland
- 2010
- Vuelta a Murcia
- 1st Stages 1 & 2
- 9th Overall Tour Down Under
- 2011
- 1st Mumbai Cyclothon II
- 1st Stage 1 Tour of Austria
- 4th Mumbai Cyclothon I
- 7th Grand Prix de Denain
- 2012
- National Road Championships
- 1st
- 4th Time trial
- 1st
- 1st Stage 4 (TTT) Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 2 (TTT) Tour of Qatar
- 2013
- 1st
- 1st
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st
- 8th Trofeo Platja de Muro
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 154 | — | DNF | DNF | 141 | |
| — | — | DNF | 97 | DNF | — | DNF | DNF | 118 | 106 | — | DNF | — | DNF | — | |
| 72 | — | — | 118 | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Robert Hunter at Garmin-Sharp". Garmin–Sharp. Boulder, Colorado: Slipstream Sports LLC. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- ^ "Team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda Unveils 2013 Roster". Garmin–Sharp. Boulder, Colorado: Slipstream Sports LLC. 28 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- ^ Quenet, Jean-Francois (28 November 2003). "An interview with Robert Hunter: Refocusing after a bad hunting season". Cycling News.
- ^ Brink, Tom (23 April 2020). "SA Cycling History: Robert Hunter Wins Tour de France Stage". www.bicycling.co.za. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ "Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay makes Tour de France history, becoming the first black rider to win stage". www.abc.net.au. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "Hunter to retire after 16-year career". VeloNews. Competitor Group. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ Hood, Andrew (7 October 2013). "Retirements sweeping cycling world". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ Benson, Daniel (6 November 2015). "Hunter leaves Cannondale Garmin to pursue new projects". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "Robert Hunter at Cycling Base". Cycling Base. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- ^ "Robert Hunter at Cycling Archives". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
External links
edit- Robert Hunter at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Cycling Base: Robert Hunter
- Official website