The Marshall Plan Tours

American aid through the Marshall Plan indirectly supported the Tour's revival. Improved roads, rebuilt bridges, and economic recovery made organizing easier each year. The 1948 Tour, won by Gino Bartali in dramatic fashion, showed clear improvement from the makeshift 1946 edition. By 1949, the Tour had regained much pre-war grandeur, though memories of occupation lingered.

International Participation Expands

The late 1940s saw expanded international participation. Spanish riders, their nation's civil war ended, arrived with climbing skills honed in poverty. Swiss riders, their skills maintained through neutrality, competed strongly. Even riders from North Africa appeared, representing French colonies and hinting at cycling's global future. This internationalization helped France engage with a world beyond recent traumas.