Maarten de Jonge (born 9 March 1985) is a Dutch former professional cyclist,[2] who rode professionally for ten teams during his career. He claims to have attempted to fly on both Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, but changed flights in order to save money.[3]

Maarten de Jonge
De Jonge in 2015
Personal information
Full nameMaarten de Jonge
Born (1985-03-09) 9 March 1985 (age 39)
Oldenzaal, Netherlands
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Amateur team
2008–2009Beveren 2000
Professional teams
2004Team Fuji Bikes
2007Time-van Hemert
2009Skil–Shimano (stagiaire)
2010Cycling Team Jo Piels
2011Endura Racing
2012Team Raiko–Stölting
2013Team Vorarlberg
2014Terengganu Cycling Team
2015Bike Aid
2016Team Lvshan Landscape
2017–2020Monkey Town Continental Team[1]

It has never been independently confirmed that de Jonge never booked tickets for either flight.[4][5][6][7] According to Slate, de Jonge only mentioned he wanted to fly on the day MH17 crashed, but he never mentioned that he booked a ticket for that flight. Slate also mentioned that there was no reason for de Jonge to book a flight on MH370.[8]

Major results

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2008
3rd Internationale Wielertrofee Jong Maar Moedig
5th Overall Tour des Pyrénées
2010
3rd Overall Flèche du Sud
2011
8th Neuseen Classics
2012
4th Overall Tour de Serbie
2014
1st Stage 4 Tour of Thailand

References

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  1. ^ "A Bloc CT". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Veel wisselingen van de wacht in Conti-circuit" [Many changes of the guard in the Conti circuit]. WielerFlits (in Dutch). WielerFlits BV. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020. Maarten de Jonge, Wim Kleiman en Marco Doets zijn inmiddels gestopt. [Maarten de Jonge, Wim Kleiman and Marco Doets have since retired.]
  3. ^ Walker, Jade (21 July 2014). "Maarten de Jonge, Dutch Cyclist, Was Supposed To Fly On Both Doomed Malaysia Airlines Flights". Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ^ "6 B.S. Stories That Fooled Everyone on Facebook (8/5/14)". Cracked.com. 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  5. ^ Enserink, Martin (2014-07-22). "Myths and Misreporting About Malaysia Airlines Flight 17". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  6. ^ Lind, Dara (2014-07-21). "One man escaped both doomed Malaysian Air flights". Vox. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  7. ^ "Dutch Cyclist Twice Cheats Death (UPDATE)". HuffPost. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  8. ^ Enserink, Martin (2014-07-22). "Myths and Misreporting About Malaysia Airlines Flight 17". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
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