Maurice De Waele

Maurice De Waele was a Belgian professional road racer who lived from 1896 to 1952 and is most famous for winning the 1929 Tour de France. He had been second in 1927, almost two hours behind Nicolas Frantz, and third in 1928. In 1929 he led until two punctures cost him the yellow jersey, took it back when Victor Fontan retired with a broken bike, and with help from his teammates survived sickness at Grenoble to win. His victory dismayed the organiser Henri Desgrange, who felt that a minor rider had been let succeed through trickery and so abandoned commercially sponsored teams, running the Tour for national teams for two decades. Until then Desgrange had insisted that riders compete as individuals against everyone, even riders of their own sponsor.