A hugely successful cycling star has come out publicly as transgender. Philippa York, as she is now known, was a British cycling star under the name Robert Millar.
York, who writes for CyclingNews.com, posted a lengthy message on the site discussing her transition and the 2017 Tour de France assignment from ITV4 that has prompted her public coming-out.
“As much as I've guarded my privacy over the years there are a few, I believe obvious, reasons to why I haven't had a public "image" since I transitioned,” she wrote. “Gratifyingly, times have moved on from ten years ago when my family, friends and I were subjected to the archaic views and prejudice that some people and certain sections of the tabloid media held.”
How successful was she as a male cyclist? The Guardian has the rundown:
[York] was one of the greatest British cyclists ever, and one of the finest of Scottish sports stars, winning the King of the Mountains prize in the Tour de France in 1984, and finishing fourth overall that year, second in the 1985 and 1986 Tours of Spain, and in the 1987 Giro d’Italia. There were three mountain stage wins in the Tour, all in the Pyrenees.
Congratulations to York on finally feeling she is able to live her life publicly, and we look forward to seeing her work for ITV4 at the Tour de France.