With Roy Heiner as helmsman and Peter van Niekerk as fellow crew member,[3][4] De Ridder took the 4th place in the Soling.

[5] He has sailed in four The Ocean Race's, in 1997–98 on Merit Cup, 2001–02 on the winning Illbruck Challenge, in 2005–06 on Pirates of the Caribbean and in 2014–15 on Team Brunel.

He sailed for the 2011–13 America's Cup World Series but was banned from the 2013 America's Cup due to being a part of Oracle's cheating during the World Series.

De Ridder maintained his innocence, and his original 5-year ban was reduced to 18 months on appeal.

[6][7] He was part of the winning crew for the 2022 6 metre class World Championships.