Roy Sentjens (born 15 December 1980 in

Neerpelt Neerpelt (, literally ''Lower Pelt'') is a town in Pelt and a former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In 2018, the municipality had a total population of 17,174. The total area is 42.78 km². Effective 1 January 201 ...

) is a retired

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2013. Sentjens has also previously competed for

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

team . The highlight of his career was victory in the Belgian semi-classic

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season ...

in 2003. Sentjens started his career with in 2002, and transferred to Predictor-Lotto for the 2007 season. Sentjens held dual citizenship, from both Belgium and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and from 2002 until 2004 raced under a Dutch licence. However, in 2005, he changed to a Belgian licence as he felt more Belgian than Dutch.

Doping

On 8 September 2010, while he was riding the

2010 Vuelta a España The 2010 Vuelta a España was held from 28 August to 19 September and was won by Vincenzo Nibali. The race began in Seville and ended, as is tradition, in Madrid. The race covered . There was critical analysis that this Vuelta, which commemorate ...

, it was announced that Sentjens had failed an out of competition doping control and would be suspended from cycling. On 10 September, Sentjens admitted to having doped with EPO that he had obtained in Barcelona, Spain, and declined to request the testing of his B-sample. He also announced his immediate retirement from professional cycling. He later reversed his decision to retire, and returned to cycling when the ban had expired. Speaking about his decision to dope, Sentjens explained on his personal website: "My season was already a disaster. I did everything I could but I didn’t meet up to my own expectations. I couldn’t sleep anymore, thinking all the time how in the hell I could still improve, I did everything. But even that did not help and I fell into a depression."

Major results

;1999 :9th Ronde van Overijssel ;2000 :6th Omloop der Kempen ;2001 :1st Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften :8th Overall Ster Elektrotoer ;2002 :2nd

Nationale Sluitingsprijs Nationale Sluitingprijs is a semi classic European bicycle race held annually in Putte (Kapellen), Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 1.1 may refer to: * 1.1.1.1, a Domain Name System service * 1.1-inch/75-caliber gun * Falcon ...

;2003 :1st

:4th

:5th

Le Samyn Le Samyn is an annual single-day road bicycle race in Belgium, held usually in late February or early March. The event was created in 1968 as ''Grand Prix de Fayt-le-Franc'', named after the former municipality where it started and finished. In 1 ...

:5th

Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen (previously GP Rik Van Steenbergen) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Arendonk, Belgium. The race, paying respect to the famous Belgian rider of the 1940s and 1950s, quickly gained importa ...

:10th OZ Tour Beneden-Maas ;2004 :1st

Profronde van Fryslan Profronde van Fryslan is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in Friesland, Netherlands. Since 2007, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Between 2004 and 2006 it was held as Noord-Nederland Tour, and in 201 ...

:5th Grand Prix Rudy Dhaenens :7th

:8th Overall

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium ( nl, Ronde van België; french: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Be ...

:10th

Scheldeprijs The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tou ...

;2005 :5th

Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem Egmont Cycling Race is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Zottegem, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competit ...

:6th

:6th Noord Nederland Tour :7th Omloop Het Volk :9th Overall

Three Days of De Panne 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

:9th Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Post ...

;2006 :1st Grote Prijs Gerrie Knetemann :4th Noord Nederland Tour :4th

Tour de Rijke Tour de Rijke is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June in Spijkenisse, Netherlands. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 1.1 may refer to: * 1.1.1.1, a Domain Name System service * 1.1-inch/75-caliber gun * Falcon 9 v1.1 or ...

:6th

Grand Prix de Wallonie The Grand Prix de Wallonie is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Wallonia, Belgium. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It has a profile similar to the Ardennes classics The Ardennes classics a ...

:10th Overall

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the ...

;2007 :1st Druivenkoers Overijse :2nd

:5th Overall

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was called Tour de l'Oise ...

:6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen :10th Delta Profronde van Midden-Zeeland ;2008 :1st

Roy Sentjens wint GP Stad Zottegem
/ref> ;2009 :3rd

:4th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen :5th

:6th

Omloop van het Houtland Omloop van het Houtland ("Circuit of Houtland") is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Lichtervelde in the region of West Flanders, Belgium. Since 2007, the race is organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

;2010 :8th

Dutch Food Valley Classic Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

;2012 :9th

Münsterland Giro The Münsterland Giro is a cycling race annually held in Münsterland, Germany. It was first held in 2006 as a 1.2 race of the UCI Europe Tour, becoming a 1.1 race in 2007 and a 1.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC are the second tier classification ...

;2013 :5th

Beverbeek Classic Beverbeek Classic is a single-day bicycle road race held annually in Hamont-Achel, in the Belgian region of Limburg. From 1998 to 2003, it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, it is organized as a 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Con ...

:8th

Ronde van Drenthe Ronde van Drenthe ( en, Tour of Drenthe) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. Since 1998 there is also a women's event, kn ...

Other

Sentjens' one admitted hobby is spending time with his son, Sente.

References

External links

Personal Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sentjens, Roy 1980 births Living people Belgian male cyclists People from Neerpelt Doping cases in cycling Dutch sportspeople in doping cases Dutch male cyclists Cyclists from Limburg (Belgium)