Piet Rooijakkers
Encyclopedia
Piet Rooijakkers is a road bicycle racer from the Netherlands
. He retired after the 2010 season after his previous team did not offer him a contract extension.
in that same year, but fell in the fifth stage and could not race for the remainder of the season.
He returned for the 2004 season and won the criterium of Lieshout and finished third in the Dutch National Road Race for cyclists without contract ('vrije renners'). He delivered a very strong performance in the Sterelektrotour, which got him the interest of the AXA Pro-Cycling team, who, in 2005, signed him as a semi-professional. In that same year Rooijakkers won four races. In October 2005, Piet signed with for 2006.
Rooijakkers started in the 2009 Tour de France
, where he fell during the 4th stage (a team time trial
). He broke his arm and had to retire from the race.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He retired after the 2010 season after his previous team did not offer him a contract extension.
Biography
After Rooijakkers finished his Bachelor-degree in Business in 2002, he decided to find a part-time job so he would have enough time for cycling. In 2003, he joined the cycling institute "Lowik Meubelen-Tegeltoko". He started the Olympia's TourOlympia's Tour
The Olympia's Tour is a cycling stage race held in May in the Netherlands.-History:A.S.C. Olympia was founded in Amsterdam on 27 November 1898. It ran one-day races but wanted a race through all the Netherlands. The first Olympia’s Tour was in 1909, with three stages and one rest day...
in that same year, but fell in the fifth stage and could not race for the remainder of the season.
He returned for the 2004 season and won the criterium of Lieshout and finished third in the Dutch National Road Race for cyclists without contract ('vrije renners'). He delivered a very strong performance in the Sterelektrotour, which got him the interest of the AXA Pro-Cycling team, who, in 2005, signed him as a semi-professional. In that same year Rooijakkers won four races. In October 2005, Piet signed with for 2006.
Rooijakkers started in the 2009 Tour de France
2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
, where he fell during the 4th stage (a team time trial
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
). He broke his arm and had to retire from the race.