| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Hunter | ||
| Nickname | robbie | ||
| Born | April 22, 1977 South Africa |
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| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 72 kg (160 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Garmin-Cervélo | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Sprinter | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 1999–2001 2002 2003–2004 2005–2006 2007–2009 2010 2011 2012– |
Lampre-Daikin Mapei-Quick Step Rabobank Phonak Barloworld Garmin-Transitions Team RadioShack Garmin-Cervélo |
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| Major wins | |||
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| Infobox last updated on 3 January 2012 |
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Robert Hunter (born 22 April 1977 in Johannesburg) is a South African professional road cyclist, for UCI ProTour team Garmin-Cervélo.[1] He became in 2001 the first South African to compete in the Tour de France.[2] In 2006 he rode for the Phonak team on the UCI ProTour, but after their disbandment he signed for UCI Continental Circuits side Barloworld for 2007. His achievements include winning stages at the 1999 and 2001 Vuelta a España and the 2007 Tour de France, the overall title at the 2004 Tour of Qatar, and the sprint classification at the 2004 Tour de Suisse.
He has been awarded the Cyclist of the Year Award in South Africa five times between 2001 and 2007.
In 2007 he returned to the Tour de France as leader of the Barloworld team (which received a wildcard entry). Hunter won Stage 11 of the 2007 Tour de France, the first stage win by a rider from South Africa.
In 2008, Hunter was allowed by the Tour de France's doping controllers to fly to Switzerland on 4 July, the day before the start, to be at his wife Claudia's side for the birth of his daughter, Mandy Inga Hunter.[3]