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19
May
Harrogate plaque to commemorate ‘greatest British female cyclist of all time’
A plaque is to be unveiled in Harrogate in honour of a woman widely considered to be the greatest British female cyclist of all time.
Beryl Burton won seven world titles and more than 90 domestic championships in a remarkable career from 1959 and 1986.
She also famously beat the men when she set a 12-hour time trial record of 277.25 miles in 1967. Burton is said to have offered a liquorice allsorts to Mike McNamara, who went on to set a men’s record, as she passed him. She died aged 58 in 1996.
Burton's accomplishments are often overlooked because women's cycling did not become an Olympic sport until 1984.
But when the Tour de France came to Harrogate in 2012, the Guardian described her as ‘the greatest British female cyclist of all time’.
Born in Morley, West Yorkshire, Burton rode for Knaresborough Cycling Club during the latter part of her career.
The Beryl Burton Cycleway, which connects Knaresborough and Harrogate, is named in her honour.
Now Harrogate Civic Society is to commemorate her time living in Harrogate.
Councillor Viv Poskitt, the Mayor of Harrogate and a keen cyclist, will unveil a plaque on Mount Parade, where Burton lived from 1978 to 1983.
Burton’s daughter, Denise Burton-Cole, who won a cycling world championship bronze medal in 1975, is expected to be among the family members present.
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