An Unsung Badass: Millie Robinson

She came. She raced. Then disappeared.

Born in 1924 and serving in the Women’s Land Army during World War II, catching rats and operating heavy machinery, Millie Robinson knew hard work. After serving, she joined the Manx Viking Wheelers cycling club and started racing her bike at age 25. When she wasn’t on her bike, Millie drove a van for a living.

She won the women’s National 25-mile time trial championships three years in a row, including the first one ever in 1955. In 1956, she beat Valerie Garrett by a full minute and won again in 1957. Then became the UK’s best all-rounder over 25, 40, and 100 miles. To say Mille could hold her own is an understatement.

The Five-Stage Tour De France Féminin

“An almost unknown epic ridden by almost unknown pioneers,” Marcos Pereda described it. Most people, when they recall the first women’s Tour de France, they refer to 1984 when Marianne Martin claimed victory. They forget there was a 5-stage race 29 years prior that fizzled out before it ignited.

French journalist-turned-race-organizer, Jean Leulliot, founded Tour de France Féminin. After World War II, Leulliot stayed in occupied Paris as the director of the sports section in La France socialiste newspaper. It was here his career as a race organizer began.

Tour de France féminin took place between September 28th and October 2nd, 1955. There were five stages, with the last stage divided into two parts. Out of the 373 km, there was 25 km of time trialing through the town of Gisors—Millie’s specialty.

48 women signed up for the Tour de France féminin and 41 made it to the start line. Women came from all over: Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, and England.

French rider, Lily Herse, won the first stage, ahead of Millie. She won the “yellow” jersey, which was actually white. To avoid drama with the Tour de France organizers, Leulliot chose white, setting the precedent that males wore yellow and women wore white.

June Thackeray, Millie’s teammate, won the sprint finish in the second stage and Marie-Jeanne Donabedian won the third stage.

It was in the fourth stage where Millie attacked alone and arrived 13 seconds before the peloton, taking the win and overall lead. As an accomplished time trialist, it was no surprise when she won the individual time trial the next day. With an average speed of 38 kph, she beat Thackeray by 30 seconds.

“What a rider is Robinson!” one rider said, “She climbs hills without changing gears.”

Stepping onto the first and second podium steps were Robinson and Thackeray. Just months before, Millie raced and won all three stages of the Circuit Lyonnais-Auvergne stage race in July 1955, taking home the overall win too.

It seemed like the race was a success. Out of the 41 who raced, only four women received the official DNF (Did Not Finish). It was a monumental moment for women’s bicycle racing and only the second stage race for women. Masses of people came out to watch the race.

Later, Leulliot realized it was more out of curiosity than for the sporting event it was. Instead of cheering, the spectators catcalled and whistled at the women.

Post Race Vibes

Rather than focusing on the successes of the race, Jean Leulliot fixated on what went wrong. He claimed the women didn’t know how to ride like a team. They couldn’t adjust a bike. They weren’t attacking enough nor responding to changes in pace.

Leulliot said, “I will never organize this race again because women are different from men. They talk too much in the peloton and that is not normal. In addition, once the racing is over, they do not rest as they should but fatigue their legs by going shopping.”

The media, the public, and especially Leulliot, failed to realize there weren’t races for women to have prepared fully for the Tour de France Féminin. Women’s teams didn’t exist, and it was rare for a woman to be issued a racing license (In 1960 France, there were only 34 licenses issued to women in the entire country).

Journalists ridiculed the riders, calling them “useless” and “fairground attractions.” Photographers snapped more photos of the women’s clothing than of the racing itself. Rumors claim some photographers tried sneaking into their dressing rooms for more “intimate” photos.

Two years after the Tour, UCI member countries voted to introduce a women’s World Championship, but failed to secure enough votes. L’Equipe, a French daily newspaper, gloated, “Good sense has triumphed… women should be content with existing races and with cyclotourism, which corresponds much better to their muscular abilities.”

Women’s bike racing was a joke to many. They were figurines, ornaments for the male gaze, there for podium cheek kisses. Women could come to the bike races to cheer and fawn over the male cyclists, but the idea of a woman racing a bike was nonsense in the public’s eyes. Society and stereotypes dictated women who rode and raced bikes were boyish and unfeminine.

Without financial or public support of the race, Tour de France Féminin faded away. As Leulliot called it quits and the media ragged on what was a momentous event for women, the Circuit Lyonnais-Auvergne moved from three stages to an eight-day race one year later. Teams from the US and East Germany traveled to compete in it. Something about perseverance.

Falling Into Distant Memories

After winning the first women’s Tour de France and Circuit Lyonnais-Auvergne in 1955, Millie set a new women’s hour record.

With two hundred fans cheering from the stands, Millie Robinson beat the record on September 27, 1958, when she reached 39.719 kilometers, nearly missing the 40-kilometer barrier. Millie was lucky enough to be on a cycling team run by Eileen Gray, who was key to Millie’s successful cycling career.

Millie was one of the best road riders in the 1950s. Though she had unyielding determination, her teammates called her “warm and cheerful.” Long-forgotten in the bike racing world, Millie raced, won, and endured. As quietly as she entered the scene, she disappeared into retirement just the same, leaving a wake of badass records.