Thijs Al

In his junior years Al proved to be a talented rider and was already selected for the junior European and World Championships in 1997 after his 4th position at the Dutch national Championships. He won his first Dutch national title in 1998 and successfully defended his Rabobank Topcompetitie title. At the European Championships in Belgium he finished in 42nd position, but again he performed much better at the World Championships, towards a 17th position in Canada. After a successful year in 1998 he was invited to ride for the Be-One Europe team, which was the junior team for the Be-One World team. 2000 however brought him better results, he won a mountain bike race in Lemelerveld and a road race in Beverwijk. He became Dutch national mountain bike champion under-23 and he came home with a third place and bronze medal at the European under-23 Championships in Rhenen as a highlight. In 2001 Al showed a lot of progression. He won three races in the challenge for the Belgian Cup and finished second in another race for this cup. He won more mountain bike races in Den Helder, Bergschenhoek and Roc d'Azur, while he won road races in Zwanenburg, Roden and Venhuizen. He finished second in the Norg Topcompetitie, first in the Topcompetitie Espoirs and second in the Topcompetitie Experts. After finishing in second position at the Dutch mountain bike championships he promoted his bronze European Championships medal into a silver one. He also won the Kuinre Topcompetitie, but Al's heart for tracks with mud and the friendly atmosphere in mountain bike competitions made him not renew his contract at the end of the year. In 2004 he started with a win in the beach race of Egmond aan Zee, another race in Nieuwkuijk and one in Apeldoorn. He also won the OZ Wielerweekend, finished in 15th position at the European Championships in Poland. Afterwards he became fifth at the Dutch national championships, but third at the Benelux Championships. Al qualified and represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where he finished in 25th position while his teammate Bart Brentjes won the bronze medal. Al rode in the Giant Mountainbike Racing Team alongside Brentjens in 2005, a great opportunity to learn, but due to the many races in Germany and the travels to and from there his performances dropped down. In 2007 he managed to ride himself into the top three in Huijbergen and Zeddam, while in 2008 he became third in the Centrumcross in Surhuisterveen and second at the Dutch national cyclo-cross championships in Sint-Michielsgestel. ==Career highlights==