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.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Romain Maes |
| Born | 10 August 1912 Zerkegem, Belgium |
| Died | 22 February 1983 (aged 70) Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
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 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 | — | — |
| 1 | Winner |
| 2–3 | Top three-finish |
| 4–10 | Top ten-finish |
| 11– | Other finish |
| DNE | Did Not Enter |
| DNF-x | Did Not Finish (retired on stage x) |
| DNS-x | Did Not Start (no started on stage x) |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| N/A | Race/classification not held |
| NR | Not Ranked in this classification |
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- laura. "Historique de Paris-Roubaix". lauravanel-coytte.com.
External links
- Romain Maes at Cycling Archives
- Official Tour de France results for Romain Maes