Van Broeckhoven started windsurfing at the age of nine on the Vossemeren in his hometown of Lommel , Belgium . In 1998 he traveled to Brouwersdam in the Netherlands for the first time . This spot became more and more of his home spot in the following years. After joining the European Freestyle Pro Tour (EFPT) in 2007 , he was able to achieve 4th place in the ranking in the coming year. In this year he also took part in an event of the Windsurf World Cup for the first time and was immediately 9th. In 2009 and 2010 van Broeckhoven was able to win the EFPT twice and thus became European Champion. Furthermore, he was able to achieve 5th and 4th place in the World Cup. He reached the peak of his career so far in 2011 . This year he was able to win the freestyle world championship. In the next three years he established himself in the world class of freestyle and was once third and twice second in the final ranking of the Worldcus , as well as winner of the EFPT in 2013 and 2014. After winning at the beginning of 2015 , he injured himself while training in Egypt and could no longer intervene in the title fight. While he won the EFPT again in 2016 , he could not fully build on the top of the world in the World Cup and only achieved 8th place in the Freeytsle ranking.
Belgium