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The Herald Scotland
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Nobody transitions frivolously: Pippa York's farewell to Robert Millar
Back at the fag end of the last century I went for a job interview with the sports editor of the soon-to-be-launched Sunday Herald. I'm not sure I was really what the new paper was looking for. I can't have been anyone's idea of a budding sports journalist. I liked football, but wasn't much interested in the Old Firm. And, other than boxing, if I'm honest, I wasn't that fussed about many other sports. I did like cycling though and the sports editor and I ended up talking about the Tour De France, then one of my favourite sporting events. The subject of doping inevitably came up. 'I can't see how they can complete all those mountain stages without drugs,' was my considered opinion. You may not be surprised to learn that I didn't get the job. But reading The Escape - the new book by David Walsh and Pippa York - in the last few days I have felt a little spark of vindication all these years on. Walsh is the chief sports writer at the Times and the man who helped uncover Lance Armstrong's doping programme. York, meanwhile, rode the Tour 11 times and became the first British rider to win the polka dot jersey in 1984. Back then she was Robert Millar, Scotland's greatest ever road cyclist. Robert Millar taking part in the Tour De France in 1984 (Image: FREE) The book they have written together is a conversation about sport and life and as part of that Walsh does ask York, 'Did you dope when you were Robert Millar?' The answer is positive. 'Just as much as everybody else, I didn't regard it as doping. I considered it cheating, and I didn't cheat any more or any less than anybody else.' York goes on to admit she took cortisone. 'I was as ambitious as anyone, and things were different back then. There was no out-of-competition testing and it wasn't that difficult to get away with stuff.' If I'd known that back in 1989 when I stood in the rain in King Street in Stirling on my lunch hour to watch Millar flash by in seconds during the Tour of Britain would it have changed anything? Probably not. Millar, 'the little man from the Gorbals with the big heart,' as commentator Phil Liggett described him in 1984, the year Millar won the King of the Mountains title in the Tour, was the reason I fell in love with cycling. And if the Irish rider Stephen Roche, the winner of the tour in 1987, soon took over as my favourite (outside football, that moment on La Plagne in the Alps in 1987 when Roche appears from nowhere to almost catch Pedro Delgado is the most thrilling moment in my life watching sport), Millar remained something of a hero to me. I suspect I even liked the fact that he was taciturn and made journalists' lives difficult at the time. Some 40 years later in The Escape, York has an explanation for her behaviour back then. Read more 'I was missing 1 or 2 per cent to be as good a rider as I could be,' she tells Walsh. 'As a person, much more was missing. Because of gender dysphoria, the whole social side was really stunted, I was emotionally closed to most people.' Not here, though. Not any more. And this is the real value of Walsh and York's book. Yes, you can read it as a commentary on Tours past and present, as a confirmation that doping was a thing back then, or even as a description of what it is like to cover the event, if you are so inclined. But at its heart is York's cool, considered account of why she felt she had to transition, the emotional and physical impact of that decision and the sense of peace she has achieved in its wake. At a time when there is more heat than light around discussions of trans people, this feels like a useful contribution and a reminder of the seriousness of the decisions people are making in their lives. As York reminds us, 'nobody transitions frivolously.' From the age of nine or 10, Robert Millar began wearing his sister's clothes. He'd sneak into the family bathroom of their home 11 floors up in a Glasgow high rise to see how he looked in the mirror. He felt, in Walsh's words, 'misaligned with the world.' For a long time cycling became a way of placing that misalignment on hold. 'Because I was so invested in that career, I wasn't thinking about gender dysphoria,' York admits. But it was always there. Millar stopped riding when he was 37. By then his marriage had ended. He went into a spiral of depression and by 1999 he realised he was going to have to deal with his gender dysphoria in some way. 'It became a need,' York explains in the book. What that need might lead to he didn't know at the time. The process would last almost 10 years and include psychotherapy and hormone replacement. And then in May 2003 Robert Millar travelled to Bangkok to undergo genital surgery. It was no small decision. Over and above the physical risk of going under the knife, he had a partner, Linda, to consider. She had fallen in love with Robert. Now she was going to have to live with Pippa. 'The need to recognise the grief of others and to give them the time for a grieving process is a responsibility we all carry,' York says. What can Linda still find that she fell in love with, Walsh then asks? 'The same soul, the same essence, except, I hope, a more peaceful one, more aligned with itself. Happier. The same heart that still loves her,' York explains. 'I'm less of Robert Millar because he is no more, but I'm more myself. It is, I hope, that self - myself - that she loves and will recognise in my altered body.' Pippa York tells her story in The Escape (Image: free) For those who recall the uncommunicative, sometimes even surly, cyclist Millar had been, the fact that she can be so eloquent, so open now, is surely proof of York's own argument that she is now who she needed to be. Some years ago I interviewed the late, great author Jan Morris about her life and adventures. As James Morris she had reported on the first ascent of Everest. But in 1972 Morris travelled to Casablanca for gender reassignment surgery. At one point in our conversation I asked her about her transition from James to Jan. She took perhaps understandable umbrage at the question. And yet gender seems such a central part of who we are that such questions are inevitable. In The Escape York has provided some answers. I am probably naively optimistic to think that there can be an accommodation in the ongoing arguments about trans rights; a recognition that women's concerns need to be met, but also that trans people are just that, people. That begins with hearing their stories. And that is the value of the testimony that's contained in The Escape. He was Robert Millar. Now she is Pippa York. We are all the sum of our experiences. It seems worthwhile listening to hers. The Escape by Pippa York and David Walsh is published by Mudlark, £22
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Neah Evans on a rollercoaster road season and Commonwealth Games plans
'Two of them had ridden it before but one had a crash [on a previous visit] and lost all their confidence and the other one hadn't been in quite a long time,' revealed Evans. 'And then the other guy had never been on it. So, we got him up onto the boards which was quite good. 'I think it went well. Everyone seemed to be smiling and nobody crashed so I'm happy with that. I think that's a good achievement.' So, could a move to coaching be on the horizon? 'Hopefully, my racing career continues a lot longer before we need to think about that,' adds Evans with a laugh, a reminder that she remains one of Scotland's – and Britain's – leading elite cyclists. Being in year one of the Olympic cycle ahead of LA 2028 has allowed Evans and her peers to deviate from their usual schedules should they wish to do so. And so, the 34-year-old from Aberdeenshire has chosen to concentrate primarily on road racing this year as part of the Handsling Alba Development Road Team. It has been something of a rollercoaster so far, the plans to finetune her road racing strategy and technique coming temporarily undone by that crash in Luxembourg last month that is currently keeping her out of competitive racing. A pre-season target had been the recent Tour of Britain that ventured into Scotland for the first time for two stages, one in Kelso and the finale in Glasgow. Missing that due to illness and injury, then, was a major disappointment. 'It was super frustrating,' admits the qualified vet. 'It had been a season target but I'd come down pretty hard in Luxembourg. There was a crash in front of me and I couldn't stop in time and someone hit into me. I went flying through the air and landed a bit heavy. Sliced my elbow. Just the usual. Nothing bad, I've not fractured anything. But just the body took a bit of a battering. 'I then went to an altitude camp thinking 'I know I'm not in a good place. My body's either going to respond really well to the camp and I'm going to come out flying or I'm not'. 'And my body decided it was not. I ended up with quite a bad throat infection. I lost my voice and went super hoarse. I spoke to our team manager, Bob [Lyons], and said, 'listen, I think I could get around [the Tour of Britain] but I wouldn't be there to race. And that's not fair on the team and not a good position to go into a race. Let's reset and try and focus on the next thing'. 'That was hugely disappointing because so far in my career, I've always managed to pull things together for the major events. Especially whenever it's been a big target - you can always make it work. 'So, this was the first time I'd really been forced to say, 'no, I can't do that'. Which was pretty disappointing, especially when it's in Glasgow and that stage would have been so good for me. But I've got the national champs in a couple of weeks so hopefully I'll back for them.' Evans at this point is desperately hoping her luck will turn soon as she makes the adjustment to life on the road. 'This year has one of these weird ones,' she admits. 'Alba's been great and I've really enjoyed it. It's been really refreshing to have different challenges. And just a lot of travelling, a lot of racing. You're almost using racing for training and going more in a support role for a teammate, which is obviously very different from track racing where every race is about performance. 'From that aspect I've really enjoyed it. But the actual results and how the racing has gone has been hugely frustrating. I could give you a sob story of all the issues I've had this year. But I'm hoping I've had this reset and things are then going to come together because so far it's not been going to plan. 'But that's bike racing as well. It's so different to so many sports because there's a degree of luck. If someone crashes at the wrong point or you get a bike mechanical [failure] at the wrong point, there's nothing you can do about it.' That aside, being part of the Alba team has been a two-way learning experience, Evans sharing her knowledge from almost a decade of elite racing on the track but also tapping into her team-mates' greater insight on how to thrive on the road. 'I think the road racing flow - how the peloton moves about and some of the racing tactics - are quite different from what you would have on the track. So it's just kind of homing in on that and racing with teammates which is quite different. 'It's nice when, even if you're not having a good day yourself, you can still help someone generate something which is something that is quite special with road racing.' Track racing, however, remains Evans' true passion and she already has her return to the Glasgow velodrome pencilled into her calendar as she looks to add to her Commonwealth Games haul of three silvers and two bronze. 'I was a little bit sad that they weren't having road racing next year because obviously the last time it went pretty well for me,' she adds. 'But very much next season's goal is the Commonwealth Games on the track. It's a nice goal to have especially when it's in Glasgow.' The Commonwealth Games will take place between July 23 and August 2 next year. For more information visit
STV News
7 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Scots cyclist makes history after fearing she would never race again
A Scottish cyclist has made history by becoming the first Scot to win the prestigious Tour de Feminin – just a year after a serious road crash left her fearing she might never race again. Kate Richardson, 22, claimed the top spot on the podium in the gruelling four-stage race through the mountains of the Czech Republic, capping off a remarkable comeback. The Glasgow rider had been on a final training session ahead of last year's Tour of Britain when she was struck from behind by a 4×4, suffering a fractured scapula, concussion and severe road burns in June last year. She only realised what had happened when the driver approached her at the roadside – not with concern, but with verbal abuse. STV News Kate's race clothes were left torn up following the collision 'I tried to bounce back like it was a normal injury,' Kate said. 'But a few months down the line, I realised it wasn't a normal situation. I needed more support than just trying to get back on the bike.' The physical recovery was tough, but it was the mental toll that truly challenged her. 'I was scared to ride on the road. I just lost my love for the sport. If you'd asked me in January, I didn't think I'd be in front of a race again.' She returned to competition after nearly a year of rebuilding both her body and confidence, and is now celebrating a landmark victory. Her win at the Tour de Feminin marks not just a career high, but a personal triumph over adversity. 'I had no idea what direction my career was going in,' she told STV News. 'But it all happened pretty quickly, I finally got into a rhythm with racing, I did some local and national races and built it back up. 'To pull that off, in that team, with some of my best friends who really rode out their skin to help protect me in the jersey on that final day. 'It meant so much to me and my family who have lived through the last year with me. STV News She became the first Scot to win the Tour de Feminin 'I wouldn't' ever want to wish to relive what I've been through but it's not until you've been through something like that do you realise how strong you are.' A rising star of Scottish cyclist, Kate took gold in the Individual Pursuit and the Team Pursuit in the Manchester Velodrome at the British National Championships in February last year. Just three months later, and weeks after a crash on the road in the Netherlands, she stormed to the front of the Lincoln Grand Prix – the oldest road race in the UK. Now she hopes to continue her success on the track at next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. STV News With previous success on the track, she's now looking ahead to the Commonwealth Games Kate said: 'I'd like to think I could be a medal contender in a few events. 'We've got people like Katie Archibald and Neah Evans, it's a very established team. 'If my family were in the crowd and we could win, and hear Flower of Scotland, that's pretty epic, that's what dreams are made of.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Edinburgh Reporter
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Road cycle club pedalling centenary kit for Saturday's mass ride
Euan Munro, president of Edinburgh Road Club (ERC), one of Scotland's oldest cycle clubs, displays the new kit commissioned to mark a centenary milestone and designed by colleague Chris Allen. Celebrations go up a gear on Saturday with a special anniversary ride from Edinburgh and around parts of the Lothians. Participants in the 70km route will set off from the Royal Commonwealth Pool at 9.45. A club statement said: 'ERC's history is a testament to its enduring legacy and commitment to cycling. Founded by CTC members who objected to racing on Sundays, the club has evolved over the decades, embracing various branches of the sport, including road racing, time trials, mountain biking, and multi-sports such as triathlon and duathlon. 'The club has produced numerous Scottish and British champions, with members representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. 'Today, ERC boasts a membership of over 500 cyclists and triathletes of all ages, with a strong emphasis on safety and inclusivity. The club's Juniors section, established in 2007, offers young cyclists aged 8-16 the opportunity to enjoy cycling in a safe and supportive environment. 'ERC is proud to have supported riders like Sean Flynn, who is now competing at the World Tour level with Picnic Post-NL, and Lauren Dickson, who recently completed her first World Tour race at the Tour of Britain with the Handsling-Alba team. 'In triathlon we have had heaps of success including multiple age-group World Championships for Penny Rother.' Euan Munro added: 'We are thrilled to celebrate our 100-year anniversary and look forward to commemorating this special occasion with our members and the community. 'ERC has a proud history and we are excited to continue promoting cycling for generations to come.' Like this: Like Related
Otago Daily Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Wollaston thanks team-mates for victory
Ally Wollaston celebrates victory at the Tour of Britain in Glasgow. PHOTO: SWPIX New Zealand cycling star Ally Wollaston has sprinted her way to overall victory on the final day to win the Tour of Britain. The Suez FDJ professional went into the last stage of the UCI World Tour race around the streets of Glasgow trailing emerging British star Cat Ferguson, from Movistar, by 3sec. Wollaston revelled in the circuit racing, picking up the time bonuses in winning all three of the intermediate sprints in Glasgow then securing the overall honours with a desperate final sprint for third on the stage. It gave the Kiwi rider the vital last four bonus points to secure the overall victory on general classification. "I'm a little bit overwhelmed," Wollaston said. 'I knew it was a lot to pull off today, winning three sprints and having to still get seconds in the final. I knew the race really had to go my way today. 'I'm so, so immensely grateful for my team-mates for making it pan out that way. I really couldn't have done that on my own out there. 'If you looked at every sprint that I did well in today, I was never isolated. I had a team-mate going into the last corner every single time and it made a world of difference. 'This means the world to me. It's my first World Tour victory in GC. 'Often a lot of the times on the track, I race best in omniums when I'm not leading from the front, and I think I found it super-motivating today not having to defend the win. I find it a lot easier on the mind chasing rather than defending." Wollaston has won two world titles on the track as well as silver and bronze medals at the Paris Olympic Games. While the New Zealand star won a World Tour race in Australia in February, this was her first World Tour GC win in a stage race. "It came down to the last sprint, and there was a moment of doubt halfway through that last lap where I thought 'I just cannot do this today', and my team-mates really helped me pull it together and pulled me to the front for the final.'' The final stage was held on an 8.4km city-centre circuit in Glasgow. — APL
