Philippa York is one of the most popular and richest Sport Cyclist who was born on September 13, 1958 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist.
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.
York returned to one of her previous teams, Z-Peugeot as it was now known and was second overall behind Mottet after winning stage seven in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. York was a stage winner in the Tour de Romandie and a runner-up in the Grand Prix de Wallonie to Thomas Wegmüller. She rode only one grand tour for the first time since 1984, and she had her best placing in the tour since the 1984 race. She won stage ten of the 1989 Tour de France from Cauterets to Superbagnères. York was first to the top of all four of that days climbs scaling the Tourmalet, Aspin, and Peyresourde before the Superbagneres finish. Charly Mottet was dropped from the three-man group approaching the finish leaving York to out sprint Delgado at the line. York was placed eighth at this point and ended that year’s tour in tenth. In the autumn York was overall winner in the Tour of Britain with her decisive move coming in a long two-man breakaway with Mauro Gianetti into Cardiff. Gianetti took the sprint for the stage but York comfortably stayed in yellow for the rest of the race. Other top ten placings included eighth in the Tour de Vaucluse (Rooks won) and ninth in the Grand Prix of the Americas.
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 64 km (40 mi) 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 Eric Caritoux and second in Nice – Alassio to Roche. York finished seventh in the Volta a Catalunya, won by Kelly.
During the mid-1980s Millar appeared in television commercials for Kellogg’s ‘Start’ cereal. A one-hour Granada Television documentary about Millar’s 1985 racing season, entitled The High Life, which also included appearances by Allan Peiper and music by Steve Winwood, was screened in Britain on the eve of the 1986 Tour de France.
