York & Walsh Win William Hill Sports Book Award 2025

Pippa York and David Walsh won the 2025 William Hill Sports Book Award for 'The Retreat,' exploring cycling's past, doping, gender, sports psychology, and York's journey. They share a £30,000 prize.

York and Walsh defeated former England cricketer Sir James Anderson and two-time victor and boxing reporter Donald McRae to the top gong. The other titles on the shortlist were Locating the Side by Sir James Anderson (Blink), Ultra Women by Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson (Canbury Press), States of Play by Miguel Delaney (Seven Dials), The Last Bell by Donald McRae (S&S), Swallowed Up by James Montague (Blink) and Examination Cricket by Tim Wigmore (Quercus).

Award Winning Book

The 2025 William Hill Sports Publication of the Year Award has been won by Pippa York and David Walsh for their publication The Retreat: The Excursion, The Bicyclist and Me (Mudlark). York is a Scottish ex-pro roadway cyclist and co-wrote guide with Sunday Times chief sports author Walsh. In addition to the prize, York and Walsh additionally share the ₤ 30,000 reward.

The Escapedetails Scottish stage-race professional York and Sunday Times primary sporting activities author Walsh’s journeys at current years of the Excursion de France, dealing with topics of doping, gender and sports psychology. They also go over York’s 11 looks on the Scenic tour under the name Robert Millar, as she was then recognized.

Judges’ Commentary

“Pippa and David inevitably accumulated this year’s reward thanks to the engaging narrative of The Escape, an excursion de force that explored both the distressed past of biking and Pippa’s own personal trip, informed with the lens of a travelogue style, which emphasised the appeal and history of one of sporting activity’s best eyeglasses.”

Chair of courts Alyson Rudd stated: “It verified to be rather the job for the evaluating panel to decide on a winner, thanks to a heavyweight shortlist of prospects. This year’s nominees exemplified the top quality of sporting activities creating, throughout a wide spectrum of subjects, beaming a light on several of the essential issues of our time– power and its influence, self-reflection and the concealed stories behind elite performance.