Women's Exclusion Continues

While the war had seen women take on traditionally male roles across society, cycling remained stubbornly masculine. Proposals for a women's Tour, raised by female riders who had maintained fitness through underground racing, were dismissed as impractical given economic constraints. This decision, disappointing to pioneering female cyclists, reflected broader societal retreat from wartime gender progress.

The Forgotten Contributions

Women's exclusion from racing obscured their crucial support roles. Female nurses staffed medical teams, women ran team logistics, and female journalists began covering the Tour. Their presence, while limited, cracked open doors that future generations would push through. The immediate post-war period's missed opportunity for inclusion would haunt the Tour for decades.