Dale Holmes

Dale Holmes

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Personal information
Full name	Dale John Holmes
Born	6 October 1971 (1971-10-06) (age 40) Heanor, United Kingdom
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	83 kg (180 lb; 13.1 st)
Team information
Current team	Free Agent
Discipline	Bicycle motocross (BMX) Mountain bike racing (MTB)
Role	Racer
Rider type	BMX: Off Road MTB: Four-cross
Amateur team(s)
1982 1983–1984 1985 1986	Nottingham Outlaws Bunnys/GT BMX JMC Racing Equipment Powerlite Engineering
Professional team(s)
1986–1987 1988–1989 1989–1990 1990–1991 1992 1993–1999 1999–2001 2002 2002–Present	Powerlite Engineering Cyclecraft ELF MCS Bicycle Specialties (Europe) Webco Bicycles GT Bicycles (UK/Europe) Nirve O'Neal/Atomic Free Agent/KHS Bicycles
Infobox last updated on 17 July 2008

Dale John Holmes^[1] (born 6 October 1971, in Heanor,^[2] Derbyshire, UK) was a British professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1990-2004. He is now a respected champion mountain bike (MTB) racer.

Racing career milestones

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

Started Racing: 1982 at age 9, in England. He first noticed BMX on reading a BMX mag back in 1980.^[3]

First race result: Fourth place in 9 Novice at the Nottingham Outlaws BMX track in Nottingham, England.^[4][5]

Sanctioning Body:

First win (local):

First sponsor: Bunny's Bike Shop (Private Company)^[6]

First national win: At a 1985 United Kingdom National in Slough, England in 13 Expert.^[3]

Turned Professional: In Mid 1987 at 16 in England directly after the 1987 IBMXF European Championships.^[7]

First Professional race result: Second Place in Superclass.^[5]

First Professional win: NBMXA British Championships 1988.

First Junior Pro* win: 13 Expert Slough 1985.

First Senior Pro** race result: Second Place UKBMX National Poole.

First Senior Pro win: NBMXA British Championships 1988.

Retired: In late 2006 to concentrate on Downhill Mountatin Bike (MTB) Racing. He recently started BMX racing again in the ABA Veteran's Pro class. His debut race was on 1 September 2007 at the ABA Black Jack Nationals in Reno, Nevada. He won on Saturday (1 September) and came in second on Sunday.^[8]

Height & weight at height of his career (1995–2006): Ht:5'9" Wt:182 lbs.

*In the NBL it is B"/Superclass/"A" pro (beginning with 2000 season); in the ABA it is "A" pro.
**In the NBL it is "A" pro (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.

Amateur/Junior Men

• Nottingham Outlaws: 1982
• Bunnys/GT BMX: 1983-1984
• JMC (James Melton Cyclery) Racing Equipment: 1985
• Powerlite Engineering: 1986-1987 Holmes would turn pro with this sponsor.

Professional/Elite Men

• Powerlite Engineering: 1986-1987
• Cyclecraft: 1988-1989
• ELF (Extra Light Frames^[9]): 1989-1990
• MCS (Moto Cross Specialties) Bicycle Specialties^[10] (European Division): 1990-December 1991
• Webco Bicycles: January 1992-December 1992. This is not the same famous American pioneering Webco Inc. of the early to late 1970s. 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.^[11]
• GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles (UK/Europe): January 1993-September 1999. Holmes was dropped by GT Bicycles the day after the 1999 NBL Grandnationals. According to Todd Corbitt, GT team manager and former pro racer GT, was overstaffed with professionals. Holmes contract still ran until the end of 1999 but GT would release him if he gets an offer of sponsorship from another company.^[12]
• Nirve: 26 December 1999 - late November 2001
• O'Neal/Atomic: early 2002- late November 2002
• Free Agent: 25 November 2002 – present. As the Team Manager of Free Agent World Team post his October 2006 BMX retirement. He was also signed by KHS Bicycles to race Mountain Bikes (MTB) at the same time. The 2002 ABA Grandnational was his first race with Free Agent.^[13]

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Only sanctioning bodies active during the racer's career are listed.

Amateur/Junior Men

National Bicycle Motocross Association (NBMXA)(UK)

• 1985 13 Expert National No.1^[4]
• 1987 15 Expert and 14 & 15 Cruiser National No.1
• 1988 16 Expert and 16 & over Cruiser National No.1

*See note in professional section

Professional/Elite Men

British Cycling Bicycle Motocross (BCBMX)(England)

• 2002 British BMX Champion^[14]

English Bicycle Motocross Association (EBA) (UK)

• 1989 Superclass British Champion

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• 1999 Pro Class and Pro Cruiser Grandnational Champion
• 1999 National No.1 Pro Cruiser
• 2009, 2010 Elite Masters National No.1

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• 1999 National No.1 Pro Cruiser
• 2001 20" World Cup Champion
• 2008 Disney Cup Veteran Pro Champion

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

• 1993 20" Superclass Silver Medal World Champion
• 1994 24" Superclass Bronze Medal World Champion

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

• 1996 Elite Men World Champion
• 1997 Elite Men World Cup Champion
• 1997 Elite Men European Champion
• 2001 Elite Men World Champion

*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.

Pro Series Championships and Invitationals

Notable accolades

• 1996 British Cyclist of the Year

Significant injuries

• Broke hand at the UCI World Championships in Paris, France on 31 July 2005 laid up until December 2005. He took a brief hiatus from racing after the hand healed.^[15]

Racing habits and traits

Miscellaneous

• Holmes is a contributing writer for BMX Plus! magazine. He has a monthly side bar news article in BMX Plus!'s "Inside Scoop" section called the "Dale Holmes Update".^[16]
• In 2003, just before the ABA Reno, Nevada National, Holmes was doing practice sprints on his race bike. He was accosted and mugged by two men one armed with a knife, the other with a gun, which he pointed at Holmes's head. They proceeded to rob Holmes of his backpack and race bike.^[17] Holmes was unharmed.
• Is a regular at Starbucks on Winchester Rd , Murrieta and Soup Plantation

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

• "On the Squad" BMX Biker Monthly 1984 No.8 pg.36 (Extended photo caption in bold typeface)
• "Dale Holmes Takes The Title!" BMX Plus! December 1996 Vol.19 No.12 pg.44 Brief interview on how he won the 1996 Elite Men UCI World Championship.
• "Q&A: Have you ever cheated racing?" Snap BMX Magazine May 1999 Vol.6 Iss.3 No.31 pg.25 One of 10 separate interviews of different racers including Brian Foster and Matt Hadan asking if they ever cheated during a race.
• "Dale Holmes Rides" Moto Mag July/August 2003 Vol.2 No.3 pg.27

BMX magazine covers

Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career(s) are listed unless specifically noted.

Moto Mag:

• July/August 2003 Vol.2 No.3 at bottom in a stylized photo. Main image: Kim Hayashi (5) ahead of three unidentifieds.

Post BMX career

He retired in October 2006 to pursue a Mountain Bike Racing Career full time. However, as of November 2008 he is team manager of the Free Agent World Team in BMX and has returned to BMX racing in the Veteran Pro Class. He continues to race mountain bike four-cross for KHS. At the time of his BMX retirement he said it was just time for a change:

"It's time for a change, I love BMX racing but decided the life style it takes to be in the top 10 in the World at my age is a lot of work and dedication. The older you get the more you have got to do to prepare yourself correctly, and I feel after reaching all my goals it's a hell of a lot of work just to be where I have already been for the last 15 years. It would be nice to sit and drink a beer or have a few glasses of wine without worrying about being up at 7am to do some sprints, or not getting my eight hours sleep in without stressing. Not that I'm done with that, I still love training and the life style, but alongside that, the way the direction, the tracks and sport is going, at my age I really don't feel comfortable putting it on the line week in week out anymore. I can still race 4X MTB, which is not quite as crazy, have an off season, something BMX racing does not allow, enjoy life a bit more and hopefully still be a top 5 4X guy in the World with some more bike time."

—fatbmx.com 6 November 2007^[18]

Mountain Bike Career Record

Started racing: 2002

Sub Discipline: Four-cross

First race result:

Sanctioning body: UCI

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 ever changing 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.

Professional

• KHS (Kung Hsue She) Bicycles: 25 November 2002 – present

Career Mountain Bike Racing (MTB) titles

Note: Listed are Regional, National and International titles.

Professional

British Cycling

• 2005 UK National 4-Cross Champion

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

Honours

In 2009, he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame.^[19]

Notes and references

1. ^ BMX Plus! April 1991 Vol.14 No.4 pg.48
2. ^ bmxactiononline.com interview by Greg Hill
3. ^ ^{a b} BMXpros Double "A" Marketing Dale Holmes 2003 interview
4. ^ ^{a b} October 2000 bmxultra.com interview.
5. ^ ^{a b} Dale Holmes interview conducted by Greg Hill published 21 February 2008
6. ^ BMX Biker Monthly 1984 No.8 pg.36
7. ^ Dale Holmes's obsolete website; photo page 6.
8. ^ bmxnews.com article. Monday, 10 September 2007 entry.
9. ^ BMX Plus! December 1996 Vol.19 No.12 pg.68
10. ^ BMX Plus! September 1988 Vol.11 No.9 pg.28
11. ^ University of BMX Old and New(s)" category and "Webco Factory Teams" drop down menu.
12. ^ Snap BMX Magazine January 2000 Vol.7 Iss.1 No.39
13. ^ Transworld BMX March 2003 Vol.10 Iss.3 No.77 pg.24
14. ^ britishcycling.org.uk 2002 British BMX Championship results.
15. ^ bmx2day.com 10 December 2005 interview
16. ^ BMX Plus! Inside Scoop through out the year
17. ^ Transworld BMX April 2004 Vol.11 Iss.4 No.90 pg.24
18. ^ 6 November 2007 fatbmx.com interview
19. ^ "50 Cycling Heroes Named in British Cycling's Hall of Fame". British Cycling. 2009-12-17. http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/sport/article/bc20091216-Hall-of-fame-fifty. 

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.
• Dale Holmes's personal and BMX News Website.
• Dale Holmes's personal OldSkoolUKbmx.com site dedicated to English BMX in the 1980s and some of their stars.
• bmxultra.com October 2000 interview with Dale Holmes.
• April 2001 Decent World Interview.
• Double A Marketing 2003 interview of Holmes.
• Google Translation of the 12 December 2005 interview of Holmes on the French language site BMX2day.com
• Same 12 December 2005 BMX2day.com interview in the original French.
• 13 March 2006 BMX Talk discussion site interview.
• 6 November 2007 fatbmx.com interview.

Persondata
Name	Holmes, Dale
Alternative names
Short description	English bicycle motocross rider
Date of birth	6 October 1971
Place of birth	Heanor, United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death