Born in Maasdijk, Holland Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) has been windsurfing since he was 14 and started racing when he was 16, going on to compete in his first PWA slalom event at 18 years old.

Having finished 6th in the PWA?s slalom rankings in 2007, Bijl wound down his competitive racing in 2008, to take a two year break from competition. Returning with a new found focus, Bijl has clearly stated his intentions for his return in 2011. Equipped with boards from a newly signed sponsorship deal with JP Australia, the next few years look to be the biggest of the Dutchman?s career.

Pieter is now based on Maui and works for NeilPryde as head of testing since 2002. He gets to spend a lot of time in the water and knows how to tune his equipment. He will also be involved in the future JP Slalom board development together with Antoine Albeau and Micah Buzianis.

Here is what Pieter had to say:

"I am very excited about joining JP. I have total faith in Werner Gnigler's boards which I?ve already tested and I am very happy with; I feel I am absolutely ready for the racing season. I have won races on the PWA tour before and have been leading in events in Fuerte and Turkey. So I know it is in there somewhere. Now after a small break I hope to be able to gain some momentum and get it out and end up in the very top of the ranks in the next few years.?