Partial answer to my own question. At the bottom of this article, it mentions that Alfonsina Strada was the only woman to ever compete in the Giro. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
http://www.biciveneto.it/
snipped. "It was certainly not a sport for women (although there was one gutsy female who competed in a long-ago Giro d'Italia--see below). .....
at left, the aptly named Alfonsina Strada (strada means "road"), the only woman ever to participate in the Giro d'Italia, in 1924. The smiling, tenacious farm girl from Modena, wearing number 72, rose to as high as 41st place in the GC (out of 90 riders), in a race whose shortest stage was 250 km. (She also finished last in three stages). After a crash caused her to arrive outside the time limit on one stage, she was officially out of the race, but the officials allowed her to continue anyway and she completed the Giro--quite a feat, because tens of riders had abandoned the race due to illness, injuries, exhaustion, and the harsh conditions. (photo from La Gazzetta dello Sport)