Quick Facts
Biography
Dirk de Ridder (born 29 December 1972, in Oudewater) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. With Roy Heiner as helmsman and Peter van Niekerk as fellow crew member, De Ridder took the 4th place in the Soling.
He has sailed in four Volvo Ocean Races, in 1997–98 on Merit Cup, 2001–02 on the winning Illbruck Challenge, in 2005–06 on Pirates of the Caribbean and in 2014–15 on Team Brunel.
He was a member of Oracle Racing on USA 17 in the 2010 America's Cup. He sailed for the 2011–13 America's Cup World Series but was banned from the 2013 America's Cup due to being a part of Oracle's cheating during the World Series. De Ridder maintained his innocence and his original 5 year ban was reduced to 18 months on appeal.