 Ruijgh at the2011 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rob Ruijgh |
| Born | (1986-11-12)12 November 1986 (age 38) Heerlen, Netherlands |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2005 | Amuzza.com |
| 2009 | Vacansoleil(stagiaire) |
| Professional teams | |
| 2006–2007 | Rabobank Continental Team |
| 2008 | Team Sparkasse |
| 2010–2013 | Vacansoleil |
| 2014–2016 | Vastgoedservice–Golden Palace[1] |
| 2017–2018 | Tarteletto–Isorex |
Rob Ruijgh (Dutch pronunciation:[rɔpˈrœyx]; born 12 November 1986) is aDutch former professionalracing cyclist.[2]
Ruijgh was born inHeerlen, and liked to watch cycling on television as a youth. After visiting the local velodrome inGeleen, he started racing at the age of 9. In 1998, he became Dutch Youth Champion for 12-year-olds inOldenzaal. With continued good results, he came into the picture of the former Dutch national coach Egon van Kessel. As he became older, van Kessel invited Ruijgh to compete against foreign opponents of his age, which are also among the best in their country. Ruijgh did not disappoint, winning the highly regarded World Cup Giro della Lunigiana in 2004. Shortly after that he also rode the Men's Junior World Championships in Verona, Italy.
In 2005, Ruijgh rode for Belgian team Amuzza.com, where former top sprinterWilfried Nelissen was his team leader. He won one race during the season, before joining theRabobank Continental Team in 2006. Due to a virus, he could not keep up his good results, which took him out for a few months. In 2008 Ruijgh joined the German Team Sparkasse; hestarted to perform well again and rode for the Dutch national team at under-23 level. In 2009 he continued his good results at Team BPL–Belisol, where he won Romsée–Stavelot–Romsée and the 1st stage of the Tour de Liège. Thereafter, team manager Daan Luijkx from theVacansoleil offered him an internship in mid-2009. He finished in eleventh place at theTour of Britain.
After the internship in mid-2009, he became a professional with theVacansoleil team in 2010, signing a contract until the end of 2011. He made his debut in theTour of Qatar. After theDutch National Road Race Championships inBeek, he broke his hand while training behind a scooter. The rest of the year he finished in the top 10 five times with a 3rd place inBinche–Tournai–Binche.
In 2011, Ruijgh had a great year; he helped team-matePim Ligthart win the Dutch National Road Race Championships inOotmarsum, finishing 6th himself. He also had a strong performance in theCritérium du Dauphiné, ending 14th in the general classification. After these results Ruijgh made his debut in theTour de France and made it to Paris. He made an excellent impression as the best Dutch cyclist, finishing 21st in the general classification – 33 minutes, 4 seconds behind winnerCadel Evans – and 5th in the young riders classification. During the Tour de France, he extended his contract with Vacansoleil–DCM until the end of the 2013 season.
In 2012 he missed theTour de France because of a knee injury and also had to quit theVuelta a España; tests diagnosed a parasite in his stomach. 2013 also did not start well for Ruijgh as during his favoured home race, the Amstel Gold Race, he fell and suffered a concussion. Recovery from the crash took longer than expected because of a fever afterLiège–Bastogne–Liège. By the end of April his health and condition were back to normal and in May Ruijgh finished 54th overall at theGiro d'Italia.
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Ruijgh joinedVastgoedservice–Golden Palace for the 2014 season, after Vacansoleil–DCM folded at the end of the 2013 season.[1][3]
Media related toRob Ruijgh at Wikimedia Commons
