Philippa York

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Robert Millar Road cycling
Robert Millar (1993)
Robert Millar (1993)
To person
Date of birth September 13, 1958
nation United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
discipline Street
Driver type Mountain riders
End of career 1995
Last updated: July 12, 2017

Philippa York (born September 13, 1958 in Glasgow ) is a Scottish cycling commentator. Before implementing gender reassignment measures , she was successful in men's cycling as Robert Millar .

Cycling career

At the beginning and at the end of his career there were victories in championship races. In 1976 he was the Scottish Junior Road Champion, and in 1995 he won the British Elite Class. After winning the national championship in the amateurs, Millar went to France and became a member of the ACBB Paris club . The mountain specialist Millar was one of the world's best professional cyclists in the 1980s and is still one of the most successful Britons in the history of road cycling alongside Tom Simpson , Bradley Wiggins , Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish . He won in 1984 as the first Briton in de Tour France the polka-dot jersey of the winner of the mountains classification .

After successful years as an amateur, he began his professional career in 1980 in the French Peugeot team . He stayed with this team until 1985. After two years in the Netherlands, he returned to France in 1988 and drove as a professional for several teams until 1995.

Millar missed his greatest career success at the Vuelta a España in 1985 . At the start of the penultimate stage he was still six minutes ahead of eventual winner Pedro Delgado . Delgado attacked together with the strong rouleur José Recio . Millar's Peugeot team hesitated to pursue and the capitaine de la route Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle turned down the offer of help from Italian teams. Recio won the stage and Delgado took the overall lead. Millar finished second overall, 36 seconds back.

In 1992 Millar was tested positive for testosterone at the Vuelta a España and then outclassed.

After the sport

In 1995 Millar ended his cycling career, initially working as a commentator for Eurosport and writing columns for cycling magazines until 2002. He also looked after the British national road team at the 1997 road world championships in San Sebastian , but had problems dealing with the racing drivers and was dismissed shortly afterwards, which he never got over. The following year he was in charge of the Scottish selection during the Tour of Britain .

In 2000 there were rumors of Millar's changed appearance (long hair, supposed breasts). For example, there was a report in the Sunday Mail, a Sunday newspaper in Scotland on August 27, 2000, which raised the question of whether Millar was seeking gender reassignment measures . In 2003 the Daily Mail reported that Millar was now a woman in southern England.

Millar, who is considered a difficult loner, never commented publicly on these recurring speculations, but withdrew completely from the public and also stopped his activity as a columnist. He left the house in southern England, which he shared with his girlfriend. His subsequent whereabouts remained unknown.

In 2006 Richard Moore, the author of the book on Robert Millar, managed a lengthy e-mail correspondence with Millar. However, the latter never stated where he now lived, nor did he comment on the rumors that he had taken gender reassignment measures. He only admitted that he had not been to Scotland since 1998 and that he now lives in warmer climes, although he still feels like a Scot and a "Glaswegian". Finally, Millar broke off contact: "No more questions."

Since 2011 Millar has been authoring analyzes of the “Tour de France” for cyclingnews.com.

On July 6, 2017, Cyclingnews.com published a statement from employee Philippa York, in which she announced that she had previously been Robert Millar, but "had lived as Philippa for some time" after a sex change. At the same time, York announced that it would be part of the ITV commentary team during the Tour de France 2017 .

Honors

In 1984 Robert Millar was named Scotland's Sports Personality of the Year by the BBC . In 2009 he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame , but did not appear at the ceremony.

In May 2012, the one-day race Robert Millar Sportive will be held for the first time in Scotland in Kirkintilloch near Glasgow . Together with the Whiskey Trail Sportive and the Graeme Obree Ayrshire Sportive , the race forms the Scottish Sportive Series .

Miscellaneous

Robert Millar is not related to his namesake, Scottish cyclist David Millar .

Successes (selection)

1978
  • British road racing champion (amateurs)
1984
1987
1988
1989
1990
1995
  • United KingdomUnited Kingdom British champion - road racing

literature

  • Richard Moore: In Search of Robert Millar. Unraveling the Mystery Surrounding Britain's Most Successful Tour De France Cyclist , HarperCollins 2007

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Les Woodland: This Island Race . Mousehold Press, Norwich 2005, pp. 181 (English).
  2. ↑ Herbie Sykes: Geschacher on Wheels . In: Procycling , German edition . February, 2017, p. 80 ff. (82) .
  3. ↑ Ralf Meutgens : Doping im Radsport , Bielefeld 2007, p. 265. ISBN 978-3-7688-5245-6
  4. ↑ Robert Millar is no long a man on cyclinglogue.com (English)
  5. ↑ Robert Millar Might Still Be a Man After All on cyclinglogue.com (English)
  6. ^ Moore: In Search of Robert Millar , p. 303ff.
  7. ↑ A week is a long time at the Tour de France on cyclingnews.com
  8. ^ A statement from Cyclingnews contributor Philippa York on cyclingnews.com
  9. ↑ British cycling legend Philippa York, formerly known as Robert Millar, joins ITV's coverage of the Tour de France following gender transition on dailymail.co.uk
  10. ↑ Robert Millar Sportive this May to tackle roads where Scottish great honed his climbing skills on road.cc v. March 21, 2012 (English)
personal data
SURNAME York, Philippa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Millar, Robert (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow