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. 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.

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. 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.

Christophe Maé

Christophe Maé (born 16 October 1975 in Carpentras, Vaucluse) is a French pop singer.

Career

Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he was immobilised from a chronic illness. He has stated that this was the time when he became inspired by Stevie Wonder. In 2005 he rose to fame by playing the role of Monsieur, brother of King Louis XIV in the musical "Le Roi Soleil".

Releases

Maé's first album was entitled Sa Danse Donne, and released in 2002–2003. This album is not considered his first studio album. He released his first studio album, Mon paradis (My Paradise) on 19 March 2007, with the singles "On s'attache", "Parce qu'on sait jamais" and "Ça fait mal". His fourth single is "Belle Demoiselle". Mon Paradis was France's second best-selling album of 2007 after Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika, selling more than 1 600 000 albums to date.

Maé opened for Seal at the Grand Rex in Paris and for Cher at the Zénith de Paris, both in 2004. In 2010, Maé's second studio album, On trace la route, was released. It has sold more than 600,000 units to date.