Tour de France: Yorkshire’s cycling heritage - Beryl Burton

Yorkshire was home to one of the greatest female cyclists of all time in Harrogate’s Beryl Burton.

Burton was born in Morley, Leeds, in 1937 and was a pioneer for British women cyclists.

From the late 1950s to the 1980s, she won seven world championship titles and 96 domestic honours.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

To show her versatility, two of those titles came on the road, with the other five won on the track.

Arguably her greatest feat was achieved in 1967, when she set a women’s record for the 12-hour time trial of 277.5 miles.

That was not eclipsed by a man for another two years, and still stands as the women’s record today.

Beryl died in 1996.