Robert Millar becomes Phillipa York

[RedheadDane]

I wish her all the best. Just sad that it took society as long as it did to move forward enough that she felt brave enough to come forward.

 

[BullsFan22]

Shocking that there were no disrespectful comments below the article. Unless of course those were taken out by the mods.

My opinion is that it's her choice what she wants to do and how she wants to be known as. I have no idea what she went through, so it would be quite wrong for me to speculate or say much apart from saying do what makes you feel happy and comfortable.

 

[Stingray34]

I was a big fan of Robert Millar the cyclist back in the day, and I'm a keen reader of Phillipa York's articles and insights.

I'm happy to see Phillipa become more involved in the sport of professional cycling again, and look forward to hearing from and seeing more of her.

Wishing Phillipa the very best of happiness and health now and in the future!

Edit: very sorry if I've misspelled your name...can somebody please confirm 'double l' or 'double p'.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I really don't care.
Pretty much none of my business.

Glad for anyone to find what will make them happy.

 

[kingjr]

Wish her all the best, and also those close to her, was probably not easy for them either.

 

[Irondan]

Shocking that there were no disrespectful comments below the article. Unless of course those were taken out by the mods.

My opinion is that it's her choice what she wants to do and how she wants to be known as. I have no idea what she went through, so it would be quite wrong for me to speculate or say much apart from saying do what makes you feel happy and comfortable.

I didn't have to remove any comments from the article.

Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior.

 

[ferryman]

Robert Millar, the cyclist, the single reason I started cycling and following pro cycling in the early 80's. The Philippa 'story' first appeared in the Scottish press probably a decade or so ago. Who cares, keep writing cracking articles Philippa and I very much look forward to hearing you commentate and seeing you far more involved in the cycling scene. You still have a hell of a lot to offer

ps ABSOLUTELY NO REASON now not to get that autobiography finished

 

[the delgados]

P.s. I have no idea why the word "express" contains a link in my message. That was totally unintentional.

 

[Benotti69]

Congrats to Pippa York. Wishing her a happy future.

A former great cyclist now a great columnist.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

Congrats to Pippa York. Wishing her a happy future.

A former great cyclist now a great columnist.

hear, hear.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Of course there were rumours about this a few years ago, but it's great that Philippa has been able to come out on her own terms now, and for the most part appears to have received little other than well-wishes. She had been notoriously reclusive at a time when many would have clamoured for her opinion on various subjects in modern cycling, but now you have to say, how much of it is that she's only come out now because of her prior reclusiveness, and how much of it is that the reclusiveness was driven by her not being ready to come out publicly and not being willing to be too public a figure (especially after the initial media rumours) until she was comfortable enough, both with herself and how people will react, to make her transition public knowledge?

Of course, in many respects that may have been driven by her previous position as a public figure; as cycling fans it will of course be difficult to disconnect from her professional career pre-transition; subconsciously I anticipate we'll be looking at her articles and interviews with the filter of "that's Robert Millar" and her previous pro career will undoubtedly affect how we read her interpretations of races; dead-naming is often considered a cardinal sin with transgendered people, but like with Caitlyn Jenner or Laura-Jane Grace, because she was a prominent public figure with a career in the spotlight pre-transition, it will always be difficult not to refer back to her pre-transition name and pronouns when discussing, say, Roche in 1987 or Delgado's controversial Vuelta win. All of which I'm sure she understands and will probably be something she's had to wrestle with herself, not only in coming to terms with her gender identity but also in terms of how she chose to come out about it as well. I wish her all the best.

 

[TheSpud]

Re:

Robert Millar, the cyclist, the single reason I started cycling and following pro cycling in the early 80's. The Philippa 'story' first appeared in the Scottish press probably a decade or so ago. Who cares, keep writing cracking articles Philippa and I very much look forward to hearing you commentate and seeing you far more involved in the cycling scene. You still have a hell of a lot to offer

ps ABSOLUTELY NO REASON now not to get that autobiography finished

This for me too - still gutted that he missed out at Guzet Neige that time after going /being sent the wrong way. And agreed, no reason not to get the autobio done and dusted.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

As for why she didn't "come out" earlier; she obviously came out quite a while ago to her family and friends, it was just the public that was "kept in the dark" for a while longer, and - honestly - we don't really have any "right" to know. If she'd decided to not take the TV job, and continue writing as "Robert Millar", then so be it. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time a female person had written under a male pseudonym, which I guess is what "Robert Millar" is to Philippa York now.

You have to consider also that it's not quite the same as writing under a pseudonym but is in fact writing under an identity the writer previously used not just as a nom de plume but in everyday life. And that she will have been well aware that while she may have been 'out' to her family, friends and those who know her in her everyday life, her contributions on the sport of cycling are public, and until she would be ready to 'come out' to the general public, many readers would treat the value they attribute to contributions in the relatively unknown name of Philippa York to that value which they attribute to contributions in the name of a former Tour KOM and Vuelta podium rider with many years' experience in the pro péloton - and the decision on whether to continue to write and contribute in her dead name is, I'm sure, not something that will have been easy.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

What's that got to do with York?
Whatever she did in the past, when she was a "he", isn't relevant in this. It happened, but it's all in the past.
As for why she didn't "come out" earlier; she obviously came out quite a while ago to her family and friends, it was just the public that was "kept in the dark" for a while longer, and - honestly - we don't really have any "right" to know. If she'd decided to not take the TV job, and continue writing as "Robert Millar", then so be it. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time a female person had written under a male pseudonym, which I guess is what "Robert Millar" is to Philippa York now.

You have to consider also that it's not quite the same as writing under a pseudonym but is in fact writing under an identity the writer previously used not just as a nom de plume but in everyday life. And that she will have been well aware that while she may have been 'out' to her family, friends and those who know her in her everyday life, her contributions on the sport of cycling are public, and until she would be ready to 'come out' to the general public, many readers would treat the value they attribute to contributions in the relatively unknown name of Philippa York to that value which they attribute to contributions in the name of a former Tour KOM and Vuelta podium rider with many years' experience in the pro péloton - and the decision on whether to continue to write and contribute in her dead name is, I'm sure, not something that will have been easy.

A strange sort of pseudonym, sure, but still a name that isn't her real name anymore.

 

[SirLes]

I'm delighted that Philippa now feels ready to re-engage with the world of cycling and the wider public. I can't imagine how hard her journey has been but I hope her future is happy and fulfilled. I have really enjoyed reading the articles by "Robert Millar" in recent years and I hope this means we will now see and hear much more of Philippa in future.


Going slightly off topic it now means in my head that Robert Millar is frozen in time, forever young and not growing old like his contemporaries, nor tragically dying young.
Meanwhile we can (hopefully!) enjoy the insight, expertise and experience of Philippa York the ex cyclist.

 

[Benotti69]

You dont leave your past behind. Phillipa York and Robert Millar have the same shared past and that will have influence on her future.

I am curious as to why the name Millar was dropped. Has Phillipa married a Mr/Ms York?

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

I wish Phillipa well and I'm glad she feels able to make this announcement. Robert Millar was an inspiration to me and I look forward to reading more of Phillipa's work.

 

[Armchair cyclist]

After all the publicity, she didn't actually appear on ITV4 at all this weekend: I assumed that it was the mountain stages she was hired to give the benefit of experience on.

 

[jsem94]

Listened to the podcast. I had completely missed this, wasn't really aware of the backstory either. Quite interesting hearing her story on the CN podcast. It's encouraging that I haven't seen much abuse after this revelation and I hope we can take further steps for a more inclusive sport. Like was said in the podcast, when will we see the first openly gay rider in the peloton?

 

[kingjr]

Why do you care to know who is gay in the current peloton?

 

[Irondan]

Re:

Listened to the podcast. I had completely missed this, wasn't really aware of the backstory either. Quite interesting hearing her story on the CN podcast. It's encouraging that I haven't seen much abuse after this revelation and I hope we can take further steps for a more inclusive sport. Like was said in the podcast, when will we see the first openly gay rider in the peloton?

There's been a few abusive, tasteless comments that we're deleted from the comments section. I think we've removed a couple here too which makes it look a little rosier than it actually has been.

 

[jsem94]

Re:

Why do you care to know who is gay in the current peloton?

I don't.

But that no one is open about it, just like in professional football, might be indicative of perceived backlash and nasty comments from other riders and fans alike, maybe not from other riders in the open, but maybe lowkey. Given what Moscon did this year, would it be such a stretch to assume that maybe some riders wouldn't be very keen on sharing a room with a homosexual rider for instance? The world of pro sports is still a very macho environment and backwards in some aspects.

I just hope that fewer people care so that riders can actually be openly gay in the peloton without them feeling that they need to hide their identity from others.

 

[kingjr]

Or maybe they simply can't be bothered with the attention they would get from fans and media.

 

[Ruby United]

Re: Re:

Listened to the podcast. I had completely missed this, wasn't really aware of the backstory either. Quite interesting hearing her story on the CN podcast. It's encouraging that I haven't seen much abuse after this revelation and I hope we can take further steps for a more inclusive sport. Like was said in the podcast, when will we see the first openly gay rider in the peloton?

There's been a few abusive, tasteless comments that we're deleted from the comments section. I think we've removed a couple here too which makes it look a little rosier than it actually has been.

I am a bit confused as to why my posts have been removed.
They were not abusive or tasteless. They were, in fact, pretty diplomatic in tone.
Are different opinions not allowed on this forum?

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

Listened to the podcast. I had completely missed this, wasn't really aware of the backstory either. Quite interesting hearing her story on the CN podcast. It's encouraging that I haven't seen much abuse after this revelation and I hope we can take further steps for a more inclusive sport. Like was said in the podcast, when will we see the first openly gay rider in the peloton?

There's been a few abusive, tasteless comments that we're deleted from the comments section. I think we've removed a couple here too which makes it look a little rosier than it actually has been.

I am a bit confused as to why my posts have been removed.
They were not abusive or tasteless. They were, in fact, pretty diplomatic in tone.
Are different opinions not allowed on this forum?

I was thinking the same about my posts. I was and continue to be very supportive and happy that Phillipa can be herself without recrimination.
That said, I don't care enough to send pm's to the mods. The podcast featuring Phillipa was awesome.
If anyone says they think the situation is entirely normal, they would be lying.
But the fact very few people in today's day and age raise a stink is very reasuring.
Understanding and support of fellow human beings is paramount.