Romain Maes

Romain Maes (pronounced [ʁɔ.mɛ̃ maːs]; 10 August 1912 – 22 February 1983) was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey of leadership from beginning to end. Maes was the 13th child in his family.[1] He started racing when he was 17. He turned professional in 1933 and won the Omloop van het Westen (Tour of the West). The following year he started the Tour de France and twice finished stages in second place. He then crashed on the day from Digne to Nice and left the race in an ambulance.

Romain Maes
Personal information
Full nameRomain Maes
Born(1912-08-10)10 August 1912
Zerkegem, Belgium
Died22 February 1983(1983-02-22) (aged 70)
Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium
Team information
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
General classification (1935)
4 stages

His win in 1935 ended a six-year run by French riders. He became a hero in Belgium.

He won the 1936 Paris–Roubaix but wasn't given the victory. The judge said he had seen the Frenchman, Georges Speicher, win.[2] In 1938 he was well on the way to winning Paris-Brussels, leading the race by 100m with only 500m to go. He rode into the velodrome on which the race finished, crossed the line and stopped. The chasers, who had remembered that there was a further lap to ride, swept by him. Maes realised his mistake too late and Marcel Kint won.[1]

Maes started the Tour de France in 1939 and won the stage from Caen to Vire, a time trial over 63 km. It gave him the lead. Then he crashed on the eighth stage and abandoned the race.

Maes rode on the track for several years with his namesake, Sylvère Maes, to whom he wasn't related.

Romain Maes stopped racing in 1944 and opened a bar, "In de Gele Trui" (In The Yellow Jersey), near the North station in Brussels.[1]

Career achievements

Major results
1933
Stekene
1934
Wevelgem
1935
Paris - Lille
Tour de France:
Winner overall classification
Winner stages 1, 11 and 21
Tournai
1936
Circuit de Paris
1939
Omloop der Vlaamse Gewesten
Tour de France:
Winner stage 2A

Grand Tour results timeline
1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Giro d'Italia DNE DNE DNE DNE DNE DNE
Stages won — — — — — —
Mountains classification — — — — — —
Tour de France DNF 1 DNF DNE DNE DNF
Stages won 0 3 0 — — 1
Mountains classification NR 5 NR — — NR
Vuelta a España N/A DNE DNE N/A N/A N/A
Stages won — —
Mountains classification — —
Legend
1Winner
2–3Top three-finish
4–10Top ten-finish
11–Other finish
DNEDid Not Enter
DNF-xDid Not Finish (retired on stage x)
DNS-xDid Not Start (no started on stage x)
DSQDisqualified
N/ARace/classification not held
NRNot Ranked in this classification
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References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. laura. "Historique de Paris-Roubaix". lauravanel-coytte.com.

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