Career
In 2007 he became one of Rabobank"s team managers. Amateur career
Dekker rode his first race at eight, and soon became successful. In 1985 he was invited to join the national selection for juniors.
As an amateur, his most important results were second places at the youth world championships in Bergamo in 1987 and at the road race in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
In that Olympic road race, Dekker got away at 30 km before the finish, together with Fabio Casartelli and Dainis Ozols. Directly after the Olympic Games, he became professional, and rode his first race a few weeks later in the Tour de l"Avenir.
Professional career
In 1999, Dekker was sanctioned for a few weeks because of a too high hemotacrit-level This meant that he could not start in the World Road Race Championship.
The year 2000 was Dekker"s best.
At the end of the year he was named Dutch Sportsman of the year. The years 2002 and 2003 were less successful because of injuries. He came back in 2004 in the spring classics and a victory in Paris–Tours.
He had announced his retirement for the autumn of 2006, but he crashed heavily in the 2006 Tour de France and decided to stop.
Managing career
In 2007, Dekker started as team manager of the Rabobank team