Background
Piil was born in Virum, Copenhagen.
Piil was born in Virum, Copenhagen.
He is an all-round rider, known for his aggressive style of riding, whose speciality is to pick the right breakaways. He is the cousin of Danish former professional bicycle racer Jørgen V. Pedersen. In 1997 he signed up for the RDM professional cycling team, getting only a handful of top-ten results in his first year as a pro.
He moved to Danish Team Acceptcard in 1998, where he got the first, minor, victory of his career at the General Practice Skive in 1998.
In 2000, he switched to Team Civil Service Commission, back then known as Team Memory Card - Jack & Jones. His first year at Team Civil Service Commission wasn"t entirely successful, as a crash into a car just before the Milan–San Remo ruined the first four months of his season, though he still managed a few minor results.
After a 16-man break-away was established after only five kilometres, Piil was one of three riders in the 16-man group who were able to keep the peloton behind them, but Piil found himself beaten by Serge Baguet at the finish line. In the 2003 Tour de France, Piil finally got the success he sought.
As the two riders neared the finishing line, they shook hands on a good final sprint, and Sacchi opened with Piil on the wheel, a position Piil used to his full advantage, sprinting past Sacchi just before the finishing line.
Most of the 2005 season was ruined due to injuries, and Piil was left out of Team Civil Service Commission"s setup for the 2005 Tour de France. Instead, he rode the Vuelta a España, where he once again showed his tenacity to attack, and looked in great form until illness forced him to retire from the race. In 2006 Jakob Piil did not participate in any of the grand tours, and shortly after being left out of the 2006 Vuelta a España team, he wrote a contract with T-Mobile Team.