Hendrikus Johannes Maria Stamsnijder (born 21 July 1954 in Enter

Enter (town)

Enter is a village in the eastern Netherlands. Enter is located in the municipality of Wierden, Overijssel, between Almelo, Goor, Bornerbroek and Rijssen. It has approximately 7500 inhabitants.- History:...

, Overijssel

Overijssel

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 former professional cyclo-cross

Cyclo-cross

Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter , and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and...

 and road racing cyclist.

Stamsnijder was military cyclo-cross world champion in 1975. In 1976 he took part in the Olympic Games

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

. In 1979 he won the Essen cyclo-cross and the amateur Dutch road race championship. In 1980 he turned professional for DAF Trucks, finishing third in the cyclo-cross world championship

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale consists of both a men's and women's cyclo-cross world championship:* Men - UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite race...

.

Stamsnijder's greatest success was becoming cyclo-cross world champion in 1981 in Tolosa in the Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

. On a muddy course he left the Belgian Roland Liboton

Roland Liboton

Roland Liboton is a former cyclo-cross racer from Belgium. Liboton won the World Cyclo-cross Championships in 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1984, was Cyclo-cross Champion of Belgium for ten successive years from 1980 to 1989 and won the Super Prestige in 1985, 1986 and 1988. He retired from professional...

 and the Swiss champion Albert Zweifel

Albert Zweifel

Albert Zweifel is a former professional cyclo-cross cyclist. Zweifel was professional from 1973 to 1989 and was in this time five times World Champion in cyclo-cross . He was also National Swiss Cyclo-Cross champion nine times...

 behind him to take the title. Stamsnijder was the first Dutch world cyclo-cross champion and that year he was named sportsman of the year.

Stamsnijder rode the Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 in 1980

1980 Tour de France

The 1980 Tour de France was the 67th Tour de France. The total distance was 3945.5 km over 22 stages, the average speed of the riders was 35.317 km/h....

 and 1981

1981 Tour de France

The 1981 Tour de France was the 68th Tour de France, taking place June 25 to July 19, 1981. The total race distance was 24 stages over 3753 km, with riders averaging 38.96 km/h....

, but it was cyclo-cross that brought his greatest victories, winning the Superprestige classification

Superprestige (Cyclo-cross)

The Cyclo-cross Superprestige is a season-long cyclo-cross competition, consisting of around 10 rounds throughout the season in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is one of three season-long competitions, alongside the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and the Cyclo-cross Gazet van AntwerpenThe first...

 in 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1989 with 14 wins in Superprestige races.

In 1989 Stamsnijder ended his career when his son fell ill. He became the coach of the Dutch cyclo-cross team and is now a manager of Shimano sports marketing. His son, Tom Stamsnijder

Tom Stamsnijder

Tom Stamsnijder is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam , and son of former cyclo-cross world champion Hennie Stamsnijder.- Palmares :2000...

, is a professional for Leopard Trek

Leopard Trek

Leopard Trek is a professional road bicycle racing team licensed in Luxembourg and led by the brothers Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck, with Brian Nygaard and Kim Andersen as team managers. The Schleck brothers were under contract with the Danish team Saxo Bank managed by Bjarne Riis through the end...

.