Philippa York

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. 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, 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. 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. 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. She reduced her public commitments in 2000 following hostile stories regarding rumours of her gender transition, and after an appearance as Millar at the 2002 Commonwealth Games left public life altogether. 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.

Early life and amateur career

York was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, as Robert Millar. At one time destined for a career as a factory engineer, York attended Shawlands Academy in the south of the city. In 2017, York revealed that she had first felt "different" aged five, but was unaware that this difference came from discomfort with having a male body.

She initially began riding for Glenmarnock Wheelers cycling club and quickly established herself as a leading amateur road racing rider. She was a relatively small man meaning she had comparatively less weight to carry uphill and she excelled as a specialist hill and mountain cyclist. She won the Scottish junior title in 1976 and was Scottish hill-climb champion the following year. In 1978, York established herself on the British scene. She was twenty-first in the Milk Race, and won the British amateur road race championship. She moved to France in 1979 to join the Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt (A.C.B.B.), one of Europe's top amateur teams, and quickly began winning races such the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers.

In 1979, after retaining her British road title, taking fourth place in the world amateur road championship, claiming five wins in France and winning the French 'Best Amateur' Trophy, she turned professional for the Peugeot cycling team, and as a climbing specialist focused on single-day road races and stage races in hilly or mountainous terrain. York was happy to travel abroad and wasn't homesick. As Millar, she married a French woman and lived with her in France.

Professional career

1980–1982: Early years

York's 1980 debut pro season included second in the Tour du Vaucluse to Michel Laurent and eighth in a race in which she would finish in the top ten overall in her career seven times, the Tour de Romandie. Returning home for the UK National Championship, she finished fifth.
In 1981 she improved one place on the year before with her seventh place in the Tour de Romandie. 1981 was her first prominent finish in another race in which she would again consistently impress, the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. York finished seventh as per the Tour de Romandie and was the first of six occasions in which she would end the Dauphiné in the top ten in the General Classification.1982 saw York again finish seventh in the Tour de Romandie. In the second year of the under-23 Tour de l'Avenir being opened to professionals, York finished second to Greg LeMond.

1983: Tour de France debut

In 1983 York came second in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré with LeMond again finishing a place above her. With her impressive June showing in the Dauphine, York was selected for the Tour de France for the first time. Any hopes of a high placing in the tour General Classification ended on stage three when she crashed losing seventeen minutes. 11 July was that year's tour first mountainous race crossing the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin, and Peyresourde in the Pyrenees on stage ten. The only Pyrenean stage of that tour, York won the day six seconds ahead of Pedro Delgado. York finished fourteenth overall, twenty-three minutes behind the winner, Laurent Fignon and sandwiched in between two riders who would figure prominently in her career, Stephen Roche in thirteenth and Delgado in fifteenth. York's debut grand tour gave her third in the mountains classification, one place above Delgado like in the General Classification with Lucien Van Impe taking the polka dot jersey.

1984: York's best Tour de France

1984 saw continued improvement. In the early season Paris–Nice, she and her team-mates finished second in the stage four team time trial. Two days later York finished second on a stage ending on Mont Ventoux putting her in the overall lead at that point. She ended the race in sixth overall behind winner Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Bernard Hinault, Michel Laurent and Phil Anderson. In the Tour de Romandie second stage at Crans-Montana she beat Pascal Simon into second place. Roche won the race with York finishing in fifth. York took the mountains competition. York also enjoyed success in the Grand Prix du Midi Libre winning a stage and finishing fourth overall.
Then came York's best Tour de France. Stage eleven again began at Pau. After crossing the climbs of the Portet d'Aspet, Core and Latrape, York won the stage finishing with a climb to Guzet-Neige ski station. She was forty-one seconds ahead of Luis Herrera with Delgado a further twenty seconds behind in third. York finished fourth overall (surpassing Tom Simpson's sixth place in the 1960s as the best British finish at the time) with Fignon winning for the second successive year and Hinault and LeMond also ahead of York. Kelly was a place behind York in fifth. York won the "King of the Mountains" polka dot jersey, the first time a native English speaker had won this jersey.
On 2 September was York's best finish in the UCI World Championships. Raced in Barcelona, York finished sixth with winner Claude Criquielion, Claudio Corti and Steve Bauer taking the podium places. Other races that year included second in the Tour du Haut Var to Éric Caritoux and second in Nice–Alassio to Stephen Roche. York finished seventh in the Volta a Catalunya, won by Kelly.

1985: The "stolen Vuelta"

In 1985, the Vuelta a España was still held in its April–May slot as the first of the three grand tours of the season. York took over the race lead on stage ten, a stage won by Kelly. York held the lead going into what has become one of the most infamous days' racing in the history of the event. York started the day just ten seconds ahead of Francisco Rodríguez with Spain's Pello Ruiz Cabestany 65 seconds further behind in third. With the following day's last stage of the race little more than ceremonial, York said to the press, "I just have to stick to Pacho Rodríguez's wheel and it's done." A mountainous stage with three major climbs, Rodriguez tried but was unable to make any inroads on York on the first climb of the day, the Morcuera. At the foot of the second climb, the Cotos, York punctured, meaning once the puncture had been tackled York had to chase to get back to Rodriguez and Cabestany. By the time riders reached the third climb, Los Leones, York had not only reached Rodriguez and Cabestany but was also taking their congratulations, indicating their acceptance of the race being effectively over as a contest.
However, York was unaware that Delgado, in the mountains around his Segovia home town that he knew so well, had launched an attack. None of the riders in York's group made York aware of the attack by Delgado, an elite specialist climber like York, with the knowledge of the roads allowing him to descend aggressively. Delgado had support in his break from a second rider, Jose Recio. Delgado had started the day in sixth place and six minutes behind York. Working with Recio, Delgado was now nearly seven minutes ahead of York on the road. York had no team-mates in the group with Rodriguez and Cabestany as they had been unable to keep up. Recio won the stage and Delgado took overall lead of the race by thirty-six seconds from York. With the race being referred to as "The Stolen Vuelta', from the collusion among the Spanish-speaking riders, York finished second overall. Peugeot directeur sportif, Roland Berland, said "It's rotten, the whole peloton was against us. It seems a Spaniard had to win at all costs." L'Équipe's Philip Bouvet stated York was "the victim of a formidable Spanish coalition". York said afterwards "I'll never return to Spain". In the television documentary on the career of Robert Millar, "The High Life", York criticised Berland for his handling of the situation on the road when Delgado attacked, stating that Berland had been unable to negotiate support from other non-Spanish speaking teams during the stage to give York the required support to chase down Delgado's lead.

Earlier that year, York had come sixth once more in the early season Paris–Nice, with Kelly again winning in his run of seven successive victories in the event. In the Tour de France, York finished eleventh. In September, York was overall winner of the Volta a Catalunya, taking the leader's jersey on the penultimate stage, a individual time trial at Tortosa. York beat Sean Kelly, the previous overall winner, by three seconds. In the Giro del Piemonte, York finished third behind Charly Mottet. In the Tour du Haut Var, York ended seventh, with Mottet again the victor. York was fourth in the Grand Prix de Wallonie (won by Marc Madiot). York was sixth in two races won by Stephen Roche, the Tour Midi-Pyrénées – now known as the Route du Sud – and the Critérium International. In the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, York placed ninth behind a winning Phil Anderson.

1986: Vuelta runner up again

York changed teams in 1986 to ride for Panasonic. Despite her previous comment after the 1985 race, she again rode in the Vuelta a España. York won stage six from Santander to Lagos de Covadonga putting her into the leader's jersey. On stage eleven however, a time trial at Valladolid, Álvaro Pino took over the lead and retained this to the finish with York finishing second overall like she had the year before. The winning margin was one minute and six seconds.
In the Tour de France York was racing well even before the race reached the mountains with a third in the team time trial and ninth in the individual time trial on stage nine. York was placed tenth at this point. This improved further in the Pyrenees on stage thirteen from Pau crossing the Tourmalet, the Aspin, the Peyresourde and finishing at Superbagnères. York finished second on the day to eventual winner of the race, Greg LeMond. This placed York in fourth overall at this point and in the lead in the mountains competition. She retained this to the end of stage seventeen between Gap and Serre Chevalier. However York was battling illness and began to spiral down the placings in a struggle just to stay in the race. In the stage twenty time trial, in contrast to the ninth place in the earlier time trial, York placed 112th over ten minutes behind the stage winner (Hinault). York started stage twenty-one in fifteenth overall but climbed off her bike to abandon the race before the conical final climb of the day up the Puy-de-Dôme

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