Phil Liggett

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Phil Liggett surrounded by Barrie Witcomb (left) and Ernie Witcomb (right) on the Witcomb Cycles stand at the London Cycle Show - 11 October 2007
Phil Liggett surrounded by Barrie Witcomb (left) and Ernie Witcomb (right) on the Witcomb Cycles stand at the London Cycle Show - 11 October 2007

Phil Liggett MBE (born 1943) is a sports journalist and commentator on the Versus (TV channel) and ITV, for the Tour de France and other bike races. He is a former amateur cyclist and received a professional contract in 1967 but instead of turning professional, he saw a future in sports journalism after he wrote a few articles in cycling magazines about races in which he participated.

Liggett initially wrote for Cycling magazine, and moved on to work freelance for The Guardian and The Observer. In 1997 he was appointed Cycle Sport magazine's international editor. Liggett has also written books on cycle racing.

Between 1972 and 1993 Liggett was technical director of the Milk Race. His involvement with organising cycle racing events led to his becoming vice-president of the Association Internationale Organisateurs des Courses Cycliste.

In 1973, age 30, Liggett became the youngest ever UCI international commissaire.

Since that early start he has reported on ten Olympics and 33 Tours. He is usually teamed with Paul Sherwen. He is known for colorful expressions about riders or racing conditions with often literary overtones. A collection of these "Liggettisms" was published in 2005. Liggett's home town is Bebington, Wirral. He now lives in Bayford, England.

Liggett has covered other sports including triathlons and ski jumping. Combining this other coverage with his Tour de France work has enabled Liggett to become one of the few sports journalist to work for the American Big Three networks: (ABC, CBS, and NBC).

For ten years lto January 2007, Liggett was president of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), Britain's national cyclists' organisation. He was succeeded by Jon Snow, presenter of Channel 4 news.

Liggett has had a long time association with Australian network SBS and covers the Tour de France with Mike Tomalaris, as well as covering other Australian events such as the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under.

He spends most of his leisure time in South Africa where he has a house in the Southern Cape and a game farm near the Kruger National Park.

Contents

[edit] "Liggettisms"

Examples of his "Liggettisms":

  • Ooops, a red light -- but we're all going through anyway as you do in the Tour de France. The Peloton just keeps rolling on.
  • His legs will be screaming for him to stop!
  • He's dancing on his pedals in a most immodest way!
  • He climbs like an angel!
  • He's wearing the mask of pain.
  • He's crazy. He's always been crazy. And what on EARTH is he doing?
  • This is a pedigree group of men, they are holding on by the skin of their shorts.
  • And who is that in the background? That looks like Stephen Roche! IT LOOKS LIKE STEPHEN ROCHE! [1]
  • His bike actually weighs less than 1 kg. It's a dream going up the hill, but he'll be blown away going down it.
  • We now watch the riders make their way up the mountain road, chosen by the road department as the least arduous path. I can tell you right now these riders would disagree with their choice.
  • Now if I were an Olympic cycling judge—which as it happens I am—I'd say that was all right.
  • That is twenty-one miles of pure purgatory.
  • He's really having to dig deeply into the suitcase of courage.
  • These are the great adventurers of the Tour de France, and the spirit of the race for all to see. Go out and see what you can do.
  • Paul [Sherwen], with this attack the chicken skin is about to fall.
  • These boys are descending like stones.
  • The yellow jersey makes you ride like two men.
  • He's riding like he has four legs.
  • The big man is in a 'spot of bother' on this climb.
  • On Lance Armstrong during a time trial: "LOOK, LOOK at that infernal cadence"
  • Alexander Vinokourov, the man who refuses to die
  • There's Jan Ullrich, turning over those massive gears!

[edit] Trivia

When the actor Robin Williams appeared on The David Letterman show, he talked about watching the Tour de France on TV and did an impression of Phil Liggett.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 25 BEST THINGS IN CYCLING. Cycle Sport Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. “Phil Liggett sounded incredulous in his now famous commentary: "It's Roche. It's Stephen Roche."”

http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Press_Archive/Phil_Liggett_MBE.doc

[edit] External links