Philippa York

Philippa York
York, as Robert Millar, at the 1993 Tour de France
Personal information
Born (1958-09-13) 13 September 1958 (age 66)
Glasgow, Scotland
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimbing specialist
Amateur teams
Glenmarnock Wheelers
Glasgow Wheelers
ACBB
Professional teams
1980–1985Peugeot–Esso–Michelin
1986–1987Panasonic–Merckx–Agu
1988Fagor–MBK
1989–1991Z–Peugeot
1992–1994TVM–Sanyo
1995Le Groupement
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
Mountains classification (1984)
3 individual stages (1983, 1984, 1989)
Giro d'Italia
Mountains classification (1987)
1 individual stage (1987)
Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (1986)

Stage races

Volta a Catalunya (1985)
Tour of Britain (1989)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1990)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (1995)

Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist.

York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists.[1] York won the "King of the Mountains" competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall. This success was the first time a British rider won a major Tour classification,[a] and was unsurpassed as the highest Tour finish for a Briton for over 20 years until Bradley Wiggins was retrospectively placed third in the 2009 Tour de France. York started the Tour de France eleven times, finishing eight times.

York finished second in the 1987 Giro d'Italia and also won the King of the Mountains classification. This was the highest finish by a Briton in the Giro d'Italia until Chris Froome won the 2018 race. As well as the Giro second-place finish, York finished second in two other Grand Tours: the 1985 and 1986 Vuelta a España.[2] The second place at the 1985 Vuelta came after losing the leader's jersey on the penultimate stage, in what is widely thought to have been collusion by the Spanish-speaking teams.[3][page needed] Further victories came at the 1985 Volta a Catalunya, the 1989 Tour of Britain and the 1990 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

After retiring in 1995, York moved into journalism, as well as spending a year as a coach for British Cycling.[4] She reduced her public commitments in 2000 following hostile stories regarding rumours of her gender transition,[3][page needed][5] and after an appearance as Millar at the 2002 Commonwealth Games left public life altogether.[3][page needed] In the 2010s, having transitioned to living as York, she returned to journalism, publishing under the name of Robert Millar, until a decision to reveal her transition publicly by appearing on television in 2017 in a commentary role.[5]

  1. ^ Fotheringham, William (6 July 2017). "Philippa York: 'I've known I was different since I was a five-year-old'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Bradley Wiggins awarded podium place for 2009 Tour de France". The Guardian. London. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Moore 2007.
  4. ^ Moore, Richard (5 July 2007). "In search of Scotland's unsocial climber who conquered mountains and then fell off the map". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  5. ^ a b York, Philippa (6 July 2017). "A statement from Cyclingnews contributor Philippa York". Cycling News. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).