Thomas Allier

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Thomas Allier
Personal information
Full name Thomas Allier
Date of birth March 24, 1975 (1975-03-24) (age 33)
Country Flag of France France
Height 1.85m (6' 1" Imperial)
Weight (187lbs. Imperial)
Team information
Current team Free Agent Bicycles
Discipline Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
Role Racer
Rider type Off Road
Amateur team(s)
1993-1997
1997-1998		 Sunn/Chipie
Sunn/Nike
Professional team(s)
1998-1999
1999-2001
2001-2003
2003-2006
2006-Present		 Sunn/Nike
GT Bicycles/Pansonic Shock Wave
Giant Bicycles
GT Bicycles
Free Agent Bicycles
Infobox last updated on:
April 17, 2008

Thomas Allier (b. March 24, 1975 in Rillieux-la-Pape,[1][2] Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France) is a French professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1993-2006.

Contents

[edit] Racing career

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

Started Racing: September 1989 at 14 years old.

Sanctioning Body: UCI

First race result:

First win (local):

First sponsor:

First national win:

Turned Professional: 1998

First Professional race result:

First Professional win:

First Junior Pro* win:

First Senior Pro** race result:

First Senior Pro win:

Retired: Active

Height & weight at height of his career (1995-2006): Ht:6'1" Wt:187lbs (1.85m, kg).

* In the NBL it is B"/Superclass/"A" pro (beginning with 2000 season); in the ABA it is "A" pro.
** In the NBL it is "A" pro (Elite men); in the ABA it is "AA" pro.

[edit] Career factory and major bike shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

[edit] Amateur

  • Sunn/Chipie: 1993-September 1997
  • Sunn/Nike: September 1997-1999 Allier would turn pro in the US with this sponsor.

[edit] Professional

  • Sunn/Nike: September 1997-1999
  • GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles/Pansonic Shock Wave: 1999-October 2001. GT dropped its entire BMX and freestyle teams after Pacific Coast Cycles brought Schwinn/GT.[3] Previously in October of 1998 Schwinn Cycling & Fitness acquired GT Bicycles Inc. and merged.[4]
  • Giant Bicycles: Late December 2001-October 2003. In an odd repeat of his experience in in 2001 Giant Bicycles dropped its professional members of its team. Ironically GT Bicycles which dropped its team two years before due to financial difficulties picked him up for its European division after Allier moved back to France after the 2003 NBL season.[5]
  • GT Bicycles: October 2003-December 11, 2006
  • Free Agent Bicycles: December 12, 2007-

[edit] Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

[edit] Amateur

Association Francaise de Bicrossing (AFdB)

La Fédération Française de Bicrossing (FFB)

Fédération Française de Cyclisme (FFC)

  • 1994 Junior Men French Champion.

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

  • None (defunct)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

  • None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • None (Defunct)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

  • 1994 18-24 Cruiser World Champion

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

*See note in Professional section.

[edit] Professional

Association Francaise de Bicrossing (AFdB)

La Fédération Française de Bicrossing (FFB)

Fédération Française de Cyclisme (FFC)

  • 1995-1998 Elite Men French Champion
  • 2005 Elite Men French Champion

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

  • None (defunct)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

  • 2000 National No.1 Pro

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

  • 2000, 2002 Pro World Cup Champion

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

  • None (defunct)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*

  • None (defunct)

Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*

  • None (defunct)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*

  • 1997 Elite Men Grand Prix BMX Valkenswaard Champion (World Cup Pre-Race)
  • 1998 Elite Men European Elite/Junior Champion
  • 1998, 1999 Elite Cruiser World Champion
  • 1998 Elite Men European Champion
  • 1998 Elite Men World Champion
  • 2000 Elite Men World Champion
  • 2004, 2005 Elite Men European Champion

*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
Pro Series Championships and Invitationals

[edit] Notable accolades

[edit] Significant injuries

  • Dislocated finger on left hand in July 23, 1998
  • Broke hand at the 1999 ABA Super Nationals in Desoto, Texas on day 1 in the last pro main.[6] Soon after while cross training on his mountain bike he slipped a pedal resulting in the chainring imbedding itself into his right leg, tearing muscle.[7]

[edit] Peccadilloes

[edit] Miscellaneous and Trivia

  • He won the first Republic of China pro BMX race which was held in Taiyuan, China on Saturday, September 25, 2004 (local time, east of the International Dateline). It was seen as either as a vehicle to have Taiyuan as an Olympic sports venue or to introduce BMX to China. It was seen in anycase as a preparatory race for the 2008 Olympics.[8]

[edit] Post BMX career

[edit] BMX magazine covers

Note: (defunct) denotes that the magazine was out of business before the career of the racer started.

Bicycle Motocross News:

  • None (defunct)

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

  • None (defunct)

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

  • None

BMX Plus!:

Total BMX:

  • None (defunct)

Bicycles and Dirt:

  • None (defunct)

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

  • January 2000 Vol.7 Iss.1 No.39 (Snap)

Moto Mags:

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official publication of the ABA under three names):

[edit] BMX press magazine interviews and articles

  • "The French Invasion" Snap BMX Magazine May 1999 Vol.6 Iss.3 No.31 pg.40 Joint interview with fellow countryman and racer Christophe Leveque.

[edit] End Notes

  1. ^ FÊTE DE L’HUMANITÉ July 19, 2005 article in its original French
  2. ^ The rough Google translation of the same FESTIVAL OF HUMANITY article into English
  3. ^ www.fatbmx.com, October 2001
  4. ^ BMX Plus! January 1999 Vol.22 No.1 pg.11
  5. ^ Moto Mag November/December 2003 Vol.2 No.6 pg.5
  6. ^ bmxtreme.com News article
  7. ^ Snap BMX Magazine February 2000 Vol.7 Iss.2 No.40 pg.30
  8. ^ September 2004 bmxmania article.

[edit] External links