The “Anaconda van Annen” as he is lovingly known by his old coach and teammates, Thom is a fresh face to the Development program in the 2024 campaign, and like Nicki Minaj, he don’t want none unless you got KOMs hun.
Getting into the sport because of his dad who was a cyclist, Thom also played football from a young age but at around the age of 13 he had to choose if he wanted to do cycling or football. He hung up his boots and left his role as a central defender behind and decided to focus on two wheels as he was “so into cycling.” He does still like to keep active aside from his cycling and in the winter enjoys speed skating or playing the increasingly popular game of paddle with friends.
Taking motivation from a lot of things, Thom’s passion for cycling is clear.
“I really like the tactical games you have in racing, but I also just really like being outside. I would say I am a dedicated person and like to live in that manner; I live for the sport. The races really motivate me and having fun and doing well in them too, of course.”
It is evident that Thom is a smart and switched-on guy who knows what he wants in life. This is clear by him studying alongside cycling as he knows “this career won’t be forever”, and at the time of writing he is currently doing a Business and Economics degree, although he admits he is thinking of maybe stopping that and doing something more related to sports.
An impressive string of results in the juniors included a win at the challenging GP Bob Jungels in 2022 and a stage victory at the Ster van Zuid Limburg in 2023; alongside multiple other top ten and five placings throughout the years. It’s the latter race that Thom thinks is one of his best days on the bike so far.
“We had Ster van Zuid Limburg at the start of 2023 and I wasn’t sure of how I was going but everything went great on that first road stage and we rode perfectly, and I won the sprint from the attackers. That really gave me confidence in my abilities.”
However, the step up to the U23 ranks can often be daunting as riders go from the oldest and strongest in the juniors to then being the youngest the following year. Initially Thom admits that he was “quite scared” of the move but had a reassuring talk with Team Picnic PostNL coach Bennie Lambregts who expressed that he should “fit in well with the team” because of his performances in the juniors and that there wouldn’t be any pressure on results in the opening year. After that Thom laughed that he’s “looking forward to everything now”.
Focusing on those upcoming years, Thom’s main focus is to develop himself as best as he can on and off the bike. In fact, he expresses that he “wants to be a bit quieter in races” as his 2023 campaign saw him either towards the pointy end of things or involved in crashes. So, he wants to get through the season in an “uncomplicated way”, “help the guys” and “learn”, so that he can be stronger for the years after that.
With big dreams of winning a classics style race in the future, he would love to take home the title in Strade Bianche or Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the “dedicated” and “team-player” in Thom will do whatever it takes to try and reach those goals.
When he’s not out riding, Thom is in his own words a “quiet and simple” guy who enjoys spending time chilling with his friends or visiting the local café. In the winter period you might catch him on the rink practicing his speed skating or putting in some stretching base work with Thom’s hidden talent being how “surprisingly flexible” he is.