Sylvère Maes
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Maes at the 1936 Tour de France
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sylvère Maes |
| Born |
27 August 1909 Zevekote, West Flanders, Belgium |
| Died | 5 December 1966 (aged 57) Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1933–1941 | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1946–1948 | Mercier |
| 1947–1948 | Olmo |
| Major wins | |
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Sylvère Maes (pronounced: [sil.vɛːʁ maːs]; 27 August 1909 – 5 December 1966) was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939. In 1937, Maes left the 1937 Tour de France together with his Belgian team while he was leading the general classification, in response to actions from French spectators and decisions from the jury.
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. In the rest of his career, he would focus on the Tour de France.
In 1934, Maes made his debut in the Tour de France 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 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.
In 1936, Maes started the Tour de France as a member of the Belgian national team. Maes rode well in the first stages, and when Maurice Archambaud lost time in the seventh stage, Maes became the leader of the race. His closest opponent was Antonin Magne, 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 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, 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.
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