View source for Thomas Allier

{{short description|French cyclist}}
{{prose|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox cyclist
| name = Thomas Allier
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| fullname = <!-- if different -->
| nickname = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age |1975|3|24|df=y}}
| height = {{convert|1.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|190|lb|kg|abbr=on}}
| birth_place = [[Fontenay-aux-Roses]], [[France]]
| currentteam = Free Agent Bicycles
| discipline = Bicycle Motocross (BMX)
| role = Racer
| ridertype = Off Road
| protourrank = 
| europetourrank = 
| amateuryears1 = 1993-1997
| amateurteam1 = Sunn/Chipie
| amateuryears2 = 1997-1998
| amateurteam2 = Sunn/Nike
| proyears1 = 1998-1999
| proteam1 = Sunn/Nike
| proyears2 = 1999-2001
| proteam2 = GT Bicycles/Pansonic Shock Wave
| proyears3 = 2001-2003
| proteam3 = Giant Bicycles
| proyears4 = 2003-2006
| proteam4 = GT Bicycles
| proyears5 = 2006-Present
| proteam5 = Free Agent Bicycles
| majorwins = 
}}
'''Thomas Allier''' (born 24 March 1975 in [[Fontenay-aux-Roses]],<ref>[https://www.humanite.fr/journal/2005-07-19/2005-07-19-810699 FÊTE DE L’HUMANITÉ July 19, 2005 article in its original French]</ref><ref>[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://www.humanite.fr/journal/2005-07-19/2005-07-19-810699&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dthomas%2Ballier%2Bbmx%26start%3D80%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26pwst%3D1 The rough Google translation of the same FESTIVAL OF HUMANITY article into English]</ref> [[Hauts-de-Seine (department)|Hauts-de-Seine]]) is a French professional "Mid/Current School" [[BMX|Bicycle Motocross (BMX)]] racer whose prime competitive years were from 1993 to 2006. Allier was a member of the French Olympic BMX Team participating in the debut of BMX racing at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in [[Beijing, China]]. Allier did not make it past the quarter finals.

==Racing career milestones==
{{refbegin}}
'''Note:''' Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
{{refend}}

'''Started Racing:''' September 1989 at 14 years old.

'''Sanctioning Body:''' UCI

'''First race result:''' Third place.<ref name="Transworld BMX pg.55">''Transworld BMX'' July 2001 Vol.8 Iss.6 No.57 pg.55</ref>

'''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:188&nbsp;lbs (1.85m, 85.5&nbsp;kg).

{{refbegin}}
'''*'''In the NBL it is B"/Superclass/"A" pro (beginning with 2000 season); in the ABA it is "A" pro.<br />
'''**'''In the NBL it is "A" pro (Elite men); in the ABA it is "AA" pro.
{{refend}}

===Career factory and major bike shop sponsors===
{{refbegin}}
'''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.
{{refend}}

====Amateur====
* '''Sunn/Chipie:''' 1993 – September 1997
* '''Sunn/Nike:''' September 1997 – 1999 Allier would turn pro in the US with this sponsor.

====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.<ref>http://www.fatbmx.com, October 2001</ref> Previously in October 1998 Schwinn Cycling & Fitness acquired GT Bicycles Inc. and merged.<ref>''BMX Plus!'' January 1999 Vol.22 No.1 pg.11</ref>
* '''Giant Bicycles:''' Late December 2001 – late October 2003. In an odd repeat of his experience in 2001 with GT Bicycles, 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.<ref>''Moto Mag'' November/December 2003 Vol.2 No.6 pg.5</ref> and after the ABA Fall Nationals in [[Delmar, California]] on 26 October 2003.<ref>''Transworld BMX'' February 2004 Vol.11 Iss.2 No.88 pg.83</ref>
* '''GT Bicycles:''' Late October 2003 – 11 December 2006
* '''Free Agent Bicycles:''' 12 December 2006 – present

===Career bicycle motocross titles===
{{refbegin}}
'''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.
{{refend}}

====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)*'''
*''1991 16 Expert Bronze Medal World Champion''
*'''''1994 18-24 Cruiser World Champion'''''
'''Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*'''

'''Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*'''

{{refbegin}}
'''*'''See note in Professional section.
{{refend}}

====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''
<!--plus one more somewhere between 2004 and 1999-->
'''[[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 Gold medal Elite Cruiser World Champion'''''
*'''''1998 Gold medal Elite Men European Champion'''''
*'''''1998 Gold medal Elite Men World Champion'''''
*'''''2000 Gold medal Elite Men World Champion'''''
*'''''2004, 2005 Elite Men European Champion'''''

{{refbegin}}
'''*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.
{{refend}}

'''[[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC)'''<br>
:''[[Games of the XXIX Olympiad]] (2008 Summer Olympics)''
:Discipline: [[Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's BMX|Men's BMX]]
:French BMX Teammates: Damien Godet, [[Anne-Caroline Chausson]], [[Laëtitia Le Corguillé]]
:Location: [[Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue|Laoshan BMX Field]] [[Beijing, China]]
:Number of competitors: 32
:'''Positions:'''
:''Event Results Wednesday August 20''
:''Men's First Seeding Run‡:'' 37.176sec.
:''Men's Second Seeding Run:'' 36.649sec.
:''Seconds behind leader:'' +0.957 (19th place).
:''Seeding Run leader:'' Mike Day {{USA}}
:Allier advances to Quarterfinals†
:''Men's Quarter-finals (Overall after three motos of Run 4):'' 6th place; did not qualify for Semi-final*.
:''Event Results Thursday August 21''
:Postponed due to rain.
:''Event Results Friday August 22''
:''Men's Semi-finals:''DNQ
:''Men's Final (Medal Round):'' DNQ
:''[[Bronze medal]] winner:'' [[Donny Robinson (BMX racer)|Donny Robinson]] {{USA}}
:''[[Silver medal]] winner:'' [[Mike Day (cyclist)|Mike Day]] {{USA}}
:''[[Gold medal]] winner:**'' [[Māris Štrombergs]] {{LAT}}

{{refbegin}}
:DNQ = Did not qualify.
:‡[http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/resultsandschedules/rsc=CBM001900/index.html Time Trial data from nbcolympics.com]
:†[http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/resultsandschedules/rsc=CBM001300/index.html Quarter-finals data from nbcolympics.com]
:'''*'''[http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/resultsandschedules/rsc=CBM001200/index.html Semi-finals data from nbcolympics.com]
:'''**'''[http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/resultsandschedules/rsc=CBM001100/index.html Final (Medal round) data from nbcolympics.com]
{{refend}}
Allier's teammate on the Men's French team Damien Godet, the fourth member of the French team made the Men's Finals but came in last place with a DNF, Did Not Finish. His teammates the women's team [[Anne-Caroline Chausson]] and [[Laëtitia Le Corguillé]] won the first [[Gold medal|Gold]] and [[Silver medal]]s respectively to be awarded in the Olympic Games for BMX.<br>
'''Independent Invitationals and Pro Series Championships'''

===Notable accolades===

===Significant injuries===
*Dislocated finger on left hand on 23 July 1998
*Broke hand at the 1999 ABA Super Nationals in [[Desoto, Texas]] on day 1 in the last pro main.<ref>[http://www.bmxtreme.com/news/news_prev_11011999.htm bmxtreme.com News article]</ref> 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.<ref>''Snap BMX Magazine'' February 2000 Vol.7 Iss.2 No.40 pg.30</ref>
*Suffered a shoulder/collarbone separation at the UCI World Championships in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] on the weekend of 26 July 2001. He crashed on the first set of jumps in the first straight. He had to miss the 2001 [[X Games]] Downhill BMX race.<ref>''Transworld BMX'' November 2001 Vol.8 Iss.11 No.61 pg.38</ref>

===Racing habits and traits===

===Miscellaneous===
*Set the World Bunny Hoping record of 47" in 2001 at the ''BMX Plus!'' BMX Olympics,<ref>''BMX Plus!'' May 2006 Vol.29 No.5 pg.24</ref> breaking [[Steve Veltman]]'s previous record of 46" set in 1996.<ref>''BMX Plus!'' July 1996 Vol.19 No.7 pg.10</ref> It still stands.  He would later claim to have broken his own record unofficially by achieving a jump of 48" later in 2001.<ref name="Transworld BMX pg.55"/> This is confirmed by some friends training with him : "Thomas could do some bunny hops at an insane altitude. As I was breaking at 95cm, I saw him succeeding several times at 120cm, making me feel I was crappy."
*He won the first [[Republic of China]] pro BMX race which was held in [[Taiyuan, China]] on Saturday 25 September 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 any case as a preparatory race for the [[2008 Summer Olympics]].<ref>[http://www.bmxmania.com/september04.htm September 2004 bmxmania article.]</ref>

==Post BMX career==
{{Empty section|date=June 2010}}

==BMX magazine covers==
{{refbegin}}
'''Note:''' Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career(s) are listed unless specifically noted.
{{refend}}

'''''Bicycle Motocross Action''''' & '''''Go:'''''
*None
'''''BMX Plus!:'''''

'''''Snap BMX Magazine''''' & '''''Transworld BMX:'''''
*January 2000 Vol.7 Iss.1 No.39 (Snap)
'''''Moto Mag:'''''

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

==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 Lévêque]].
*"Thomas Allier: The One" ''Transworld BMX'' July 2001 Vol.8 Iss.6 No.57 pg.50

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{UCI BMX rider}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Olympics.com}}
* {{CNOSF|6/allier-10076|archive=20221030192901}}
* [http://www.ababmx.com/ The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.]
* [http://www.nbl.org/ The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.]
* [http://www.bmxonline.com/bmx/interviews/article/0,15737,381467,00.html "The Thomas Allier Interview" March 9, 2001 bmxoline.com interview.]
* [http://www.daleholmes.com/interviews/thomas.shtml 2002 Daleholmes.com Interview.]

{{UCI BMX World Champions – Men's elite race}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allier, Thomas}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:French BMX riders]]
[[Category:French male cyclists]]
[[Category:Olympic cyclists for France]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:UCI BMX World Champions (elite men)]]
[[Category:People from Fontenay-aux-Roses]]
[[Category:Cyclists from Hauts-de-Seine]]