Paul Deman was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for 15 years from 1909–1924, and a carpet maker by trade.

He won the first Ronde van Vlaanderen race in 1913 at the age of 25, defeating a field of 37 riders over a 330 km course that ended with 4 laps of the wooden track around a small pond at Mariakerke

Mariakerke

Mariakerke is a village in the Belgian province of East-Flanders. It is part of the urban area of the province's capital city Ghent. Its population is of 11,883 people .- History :...

, the suburb of Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

. He won the gruelling 592 km Bordeaux–Paris in 1914. His career almost ended with the first world war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He joined Belgium's espionage service and smuggled documents by bike into neutral Holland. After many trips he was arrested by the Germans and jailed in Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

 ready to be shot. The Armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

 saved him. He started racing again and won Paris–Roubaix in 1920 and Paris–Tours in 1923.

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