Sylvère Maes (; 27 August 1909 – 5 December 1966) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

cyclist, who is most famous for winning the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. In 1937, Maes left the

1937 Tour de France The 1937 Tour de France was the 31st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 25 July. It consisted of 20 stages with a total length of . Charles Holland and Bill Burl became the first British cyclists to ride the Tour. Burl ...

together with his Belgian team while he was leading the general classification, in response to actions from French spectators and decisions from the jury.

Biography

Born in 1909 as the youngest in a family of ten children, Maes rode his first cycling race in 1928, and immediately was one of the best young riders. At the end of the 1932 season, Maes became a professional cyclist, and in a short time managed to win two races for professionals. Maes was a cyclo-cross talent, which he showed by winning the 1933 Critérium International de Cyclo-cross, considered the unofficial cyclo-cross world championship. In 1933 Maes recorded his first major victory by winning

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

. In the rest of his career, he would focus on the Tour de France.Amels, p.52

1934 to 1935 Maes' first Tour de France successes

In 1934, Maes made his debut in the

as an individual, but had more success than the Belgians in the national team, and was the only Belgian to win a stage. In the general classification, he finished in eighth place. Maes started the

1935 Tour de France The 1935 Tour de France was the 29th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 4 to 28 July. It consisted of 21 stages over . Although the French team was favourite, Belgian Romain Maes took the lead in the first stage, and never gave it a ...

again as an individual. When Joseph Moerenhout left the race in the second stage, the rules allowed an individual to take his place, and Maes was added to the national team. Maes won a mountain stage in the Pyrenées, and finished in fourth place in the general classification.

1936: winning the Tour de France

In 1936, Maes started the

as a member of the Belgian national team. Maes rode well in the first stages, and when

Maurice Archambaud Maurice Archambaud (30 August 1908 in Paris – 3 December 1955 in Le Raincy) was a French professional cyclist from 1932 to 1944. His short stature earned him the nickname of ''le nabot'', or "the dwarf", but his colossal thighs made him an exce ...

lost time in the seventh stage, Maes became the leader of the race. His closest opponent was

Antonin Magne Antonin Magne (; 15 February 1904 – 8 September 1983) was a French cyclist who won the Tour de France in 1931 and 1934. He raced as a professional from 1927 to 1939 and then became a team manager. The French rider and then journalist, Jean Bo ...

, and they tested each other in the ninth stage. Magne rode away on the Allos, the last climb of the day, and gained three minutes on Maes. Magne then fell because a spectator tried to help him, and Maes was able to come back. Maes gained some time in the next stages, winning two stages run in the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

format. In the 16th stage, Maes escaped early in the stage. Only Yvan Marie and Felicien Vervaecke were initially able to follow him. Marie lost contact, and Vervaecke had mechanical problems during the climb of the

Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of th ...

, so Maes continued on his own, and gained 15 minutes on Magne. In the rest of the race, his lead was never seriously contested anymore, so Maes won the Tour.

1937: leaving Tour de France in winning position

Maes was the leader of the Belgian team in the

. In the ninth stage, Maes took over the lead from

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

, who was weakened in a fall. When Bartali later left the race, it was clear that the battle would be between Maes and Frenchman

Roger Lapébie Roger Lapébie (; 16 January 1911 – 11 October 1996) was a French racing cyclist who won the 1937 Tour de France. In addition, Lapébie won the 1934 and 1937 editions of the Critérium National. He was born at Bayonne, Aquitaine, and died i ...

. The Tour organisation then decided to reduce the number of team time trials, which mostly harmed Maes's chances, as the Belgians were considered to have the better team. The Belgian team also accused Lapébie of being pulled by a car on the Alps. On the rest day before the Pyrenées, Maes was approached by a person offering him 100.000 Belgian Francs to let Lapébie win the race, which Maes refused. In the fifteenth stage, where mountains in the Pyrenées were climbed, Maes created a large margin on Lapébie. When Maes punctured, Lapébie was able to reach him, and at the end of the stage only

Julián Berrendero Julián Berrendero Martín (born San Agustín del Guadalix, 8 April 1912, died Madrid, 1 August 1995) was a Spanish road racing cyclist. He is most famous for having won the third and fourth editions of the Vuelta a España in 1941 and 1942. He ...

was in front of them, and Lapébie won the sprint for the second place. This rewarded Lapébie with 45 seconds bonification time. When the tour directors gave him 90 seconds penalty time for having been pushed, the margin with Maes grew to more than three minutes, but Lapébie had sensed weakness in the Belgian team, and planned to attack in the next stage. The Belgian team complained that the penalty was far too little, because Lapébie's advantage had been much greater. The French team threatened to abandon the race if the penalty was increased, and the Tour directors did not change it. In the sixteenth stage, Lapébie finished ahead of Maes, cutting the Belgian's lead to only 25 seconds; with only flat stages left, it might be enough for Maes. During that sixteenth stage, Maes had punctured, and had been helped by two Belgian cyclists,

Gustaaf Deloor Gustaaf Deloor (24 June 1913 – 28 January 2002) was a Belgian road racing cyclist and the winner of the first two editions of the Vuelta a España in 1935 and 1936. The 1936 edition remains the longest winning finish time of the Vuelta in ...

and Adolf Braeckeveldt, who rode as individuals and were not part of the Belgian team. The Tour jury then fined Maes with 15 seconds penalty time in the general classification. During the race, a train crossing had been closed just after Lapébie had passed, and just before Maes was about to pass. Maes was offended by all this, and quit the race, together with the rest of the Belgian team. In Belgium, the supporters protested against the Tour organisation. Within 24 hours, 20.000 protest letters were sent to a sports magazine, and in ten days more than 100.000 Belgian Francs were sent to the national cycling organisation to support the Tour cyclists.

1938: disappointing Tour de France

Maes was again the team leader in the

1938 Tour de France The 1938 Tour de France was the 32nd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 to 31 July. It was composed of 21 stages over .The race was won by Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, who also won the mountains classification. Innovations and ...

. Maes was however in bad form, and could not live up to expectations, and Felicien Vervaecke took over the team captain role. Maes finished in 14th place in that tour. Outside the Tour de France, his cycling year was more successful: he finished in second place in both

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

and the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

, his best finishings in a one-day classic race outside his 1933 Paris–Roubaix victory.

1939: winning his second Tour de France

In 1939, Maes was again the leader of the Belgian team in the

, and with the Italian team not starting, he was the major favourite. Another protected racer in the Belgian team was Edward Vissers, but when Vissers escaped in the ninth stage, Maes started to chase his own teammate, and French cyclist René Vietto, leading the general classification, did not have to do much work to defend his lead. In the Alps, Maes was able to beat Vietto. In the time trial in stage 16B, Maes started ten minutes after Vietto, but was able to catch him. His lead was more than 30 minutes, and Vietto could not win anymore. His victory was complete because Maes also won the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

, and his team won the

team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...

1940 to 1947: late career

Maes had his chances to win a third Tour de France interrupted by the Second World War. Most professional races were cancelled, so to find an income, Maes became a bartender. In 1947, Maes rode the

1947 Giro d'Italia The 1947 Giro d'Italia was the 30th edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the newspaper '' La Gazzetta dello Sport''. The race began on 24 May in Milan with a stage that stretched to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 15 Ju ...

, finishing in fifth place. Maes had planned to start the

1947 Tour de France The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race distance was 21 stages over . It was the first Tour since 1939, having been cancelled during World War II, although some Tour ...

, and he would have been allowed to wear the

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

during the first stage, as a symbol that the 1947 Tour was the continuation of the 1939 Tour, but he resigned at the last minute. He rode his last season in 1948.

Later life

From 1949 to 1957, Sylvère Maes was the team director of the Belgian team in the Tour de France. After that, he started a pub in

Gistel Gistel () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Following local government boundary reforms in 1971 and 1977, the municipality has comprised not only Gistel, but also the towns of Moere, Snaaskerke and Ze ...

, named 'Au Tourmalet'. Maes died from cancer in 1966, aged 57. In 2011, a museum opened in

, in honor of Maes and

Johan Museeuw Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist who was a professional from 1988 until 2004. Nicknamed ''The Lion of Flanders'', he was particularly successful in the cobbled classics of Flanders and No ...

Career achievements

Major results

;1932 :Brussels - Luxembourg - Mondorf: winner stage 2 : GP Stad Kortrijk :Den Bosch : Omloop van het Vlaamse Land : Jabeke ;1933 :Critérium International de Cyclo-cross, Cyclo-cross (FRA) :

Schaal Sels-Merksem Schaal Sels is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in September in Merksem, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions wh ...

De Panne De Panne (; french: La Panne ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town dest ...

;1934 :Den Bosch :Oudenburg :

: ::8th place overall classification ::Winner stage 23 ;1935 :

: ::4th place overall classification ::Winner stage 15 ;1936 :

: ::

winner overall classification ::Winner stages 13B, 14B, 16, 18B ;1937 :

: ::Winner stage 5B ;1938 :Roeselare ;1939 :Circuit du Morbihan: winner stage 2 and overall classification :

: ::

winner overall classification ::Winner

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

::Winner stages 15, 16B ;1941 :Kessel-lo ;1942 : Witte Donderdagprijs ;1947 : Giro d'Italia: ::5th place overall classification

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Sylvère Maes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maes, Sylvere Belgian male cyclists Tour de France winners Belgian Tour de France stage winners 1909 births 1966 deaths Sportspeople from West Flanders People from Gistel