ONE of Britain’s most successful cyclists has publicly disclosed a change in gender.

Philippa York made a statement on Thursday night, disclosing her former identity as Robert Millar, the 1984 King of the Mountains at the Tour de France.

The Scottish cyclist, until the overall Tour wins of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, had the highest finish of a Briton in the race, finishing fourth.

She has previously written on cycling as Millar, but now York will write as herself and appear on ITV4’s coverage of the Tour.

She said: “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.

“Gratifyingly, times have moved on from 10 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.

“Thankfully gender issues are no longer a subject of such ignorance and intolerance.”