Dale Holmes[1] (born 6 October 1971, he n Heanor,[2]Derbyshire) is a Retired British professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1983 to 2009. He now lives in San Diego, California with a wife and 2 daughters
Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
Started Racing: 1982, aged 10, in England. He first noticed BMX on reading a BMX mag back in 1980.[3]
First race result: Fourth place in 9 year age group 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 1988 at 16 in England directly after the 1988 IBMXF European Championships. [citation needed]
First Professional race result: Second Place in Superclass Poole UKBMX National.[5]
First Professional win: NBMXA British Championships 1988.
First National win: 13 Expert Slough 1985.
First Pro/ Superclass win: NBMXA British Championships 1988.
Retired from Elite: In late 2006 to concentrate on 4x Mountain 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.[7]
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.
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.
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 (the Netherlands specifically) and co-founded the IBMXF.[10]
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.[11]
Nirve: 26 December 1999 - late November 2001
O'Neal/Atomic: Early 2002- late November 2002
Free Agent: 2002 – 25 November 2013. As the Team Manager of Free Agent World Team post his October 2006 BMX retirement at Elite level. He was also signed by KHS Bicycles to race Mountain Bikes (MTB) at the same time. The 2002 ABA Grand National was his first race with Free Agent.[12]
Dale Holmes Racing: 2014 Started own team with Chase Bicycles as primary bike sponsor
Dale Holmes Racing: 2016 Dale Holmes Racing with Stay Strong Title Sponsor
Dale Holmes Racing: 2017 USA Cycling Development Team with Haro Bikes & Rockstar Energy
Dale Holmes Racing: 2018 USA Cycling Development Team with Haro Bikes & Rockstar Energy
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
1986 14–15 Cruiser Bronze Medal World Championship
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
1993 Elite Men Silver Medal World Championship
1994 Elite Cruiser Bronze Medal World Championship
1995 Elite Men Silver Medal European Championship
1996 Elite Men World Champion
1996 Elite Men European Champion
1997 Elite Men World Cup Champion
1997 Elite Men European Champion
1997 Elite Cruiser Bronze Medal World Championship
1998 Elite Cruiser Silver Medal World Championship
2000 Elite Men Bronze Medal World Championship
2001 Elite Men World Champion
2001 Elite Cruiser Silver Medal World Championship
2008 Masters World Champion
2008 35–40 Cruiser World Champion
2009 Masters Silver Medal World Championship
2009 35–40 Cruiser 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.
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.[14]
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".[15]
In 2003, just before the ABA Reno, Nevada National, Holmes was doing practice sprints on his race bike [where?] when he was accosted and mugged by two men one armed with a knife, the other with a gun, which he pointed at Holmes' head. They proceeded to rob Holmes of his backpack and race bike.[16] Holmes was unharmed.
Holmes is the Team Manager of the 2 x Olympic Gold Medalist, Maris Strombergs.
Team Managed Free Agent to 3 x UCI World Champion Team Titles.
2 x Member of Team GT World Championships Team wins during UCI World Championships.
During the 2012 London Olympic Games, Holmes was the guest TV pundit for BBC's live coverage of the BMX event.
Dale Holmes has been featured on YouTuber, FaZe Rug's channel on a number of occasions introducing BMX Racing to a larger audience.
"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, p. 27
He retired from Elite racing in October 2006 to pursue a Mountain Bike Racing Career full-time. However, as of November 2007 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."
Career MTB factory and major Non-factory sponsors[edit]
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.
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