Theo de Rooij
A tough Dutch classics specialist turned controversial team manager, whose career mirrors the gritty, complex evolution of European professional cycling.
Born 1957 (age 69)·Dutch cyclist·Birthday: April 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Theo de Rooij's life in cycling has been spent in the trenches, first as a rider who thrived on the brutal one-day races of Northern Europe, then as a manager navigating the sport's ethical crises. As a professional from 1980 to 1990, he was a domestique and occasional winner for powerful teams like Panasonic, built in the image of the demanding director Peter Post. De Rooij's strength was in the cold and cobbles of races like Paris-Roubaix, where resilience mattered more than flair. This hard-nosed understanding of the peloton's realities informed his second career. As the long-time manager of the Rabobank team, he oversaw its rise into a cycling powerhouse, but also its entanglement in the doping scandals that defined an era. His resigned, famously candid comment about the 2007 Tour de France being 'a war' and his subsequent departure from Rabobank marked a low point, a recognition of a system in deep conflict. De Rooij's story is one of deep commitment to the sport, weathered by its most difficult challenges.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Theo was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Theo Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Theo's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Dutch National Road Race Championship in 1985.
- Secured a stage victory at the 1985 Tour de France.
- Served as the General Manager of the Rabobank professional cycling team from 1996 to 2007.
- Had multiple top-10 finishes in the grueling Paris-Roubaix classic.
Did You Know?
His quote describing the Tour de France as "a war, and after a war you have to count your dead" sparked major controversy in 2007.
He spent the majority of his racing career under the management of legendary Dutch director Peter Post.
After leaving Rabobank, he worked for the Dutch cycling federation (KNWU) in a developmental role.
He is known to be an avid fisherman.
“It's a war, and after a war you have to count your dead.”
