Hero Trophy 1935 Tour de France - Romain Maes

After five successive triumphs, the French lead in the Tour de France ends in 1935. The man responsible for this was Romain Maes. As the winner of the opening stage, he became the first yellow jersey wearer. Ups and downs and bad luck seemed to be pushing the rider from West Flanders to drop out several times, or at least to make him lose a considerable amount of time. But, time and time again, he managed to get Driessen off the hook. He ended up wearing yellow for the entire race. Even when teammate Félicien Vervaecke attacked while Romain Maes was in trouble, he managed to hold onto his leading position. His triumph in the final stage between Caen and Paris added even more lustre to his Tour success. Félicien Vervaecke, of all people, came second in that stage. Romain Maes' mother was also there at Princes' Park in Paris. It is said that this was the first time she had ever left her village of Zerkegem. The pictures of the emotional winner with his worried-looking yet admiring mother form part of the iconic Tour de France images.