Cycling's Dick Vitale
By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published July 6, 2007
For those of us who grimace just watching every labored crank as the cyclists climb the Alps or lean forward and clench imaginary handlebars during the harrowing sprints to the line, Versus commentator Phil Liggett is our Dick Vitale.
He's knowledgable, opinionated, passionate and entertaining with his "Liggettisms" that are, well, awesome baby. Rest assured, some rider will be gracefully and powerfully "dancing on his pedals, " while others will run out of steam and have their "elastic snapped."
Simply put, Liggett's the voice of the Tour de France.
He's been at every Tour since 1973 and has been a television commentator at cycling's grandest event every year beginning in 1978. He recently spent some time on the phone from his home in London with Times staff writer Brian Landman talking about the sport, drugs and this year's Tour, which begins Saturday.
Cycling has been rocked by a string of admissions regarding drug use from stars past and present such as Bjarne Riis and Ivan Basso and the cloud of controversy that still envelops last year's Tour de France winner, Floyd Landis. What's the state of the sport?
I'm hoping we're getting most of the dirty washing onto the line the last few months and that we're finally getting down to the bottom of the problem, the cancer that has gotten into cycling. ... I really feel we've turned the corner. It's a new beginning.
What do you think will happen to Landis?
I'm not saying Floyd's never taken drugs because I can't answer that. He's adamant he hasn't. But I do believe this particular situation has been handled badly and I think he might well get off. Whether people will view him as a non-drug taker, that's something we'll have to argue later. Many would believe he got off on a technicality if he gets off. He's certainly paid the price. Whether guilty or not, it's ruined his career.
Did any of the recent admissions by cyclists surprise you?
I always suspected Basso and I also always believed Bjarne Riis took drugs. I was with Bjarne Riis (recently in Switzerland) and I had a long chat with him. He admitted he took drugs throughout his cycling career. He wanted to win races and he took drugs.
Will we see evidence for your optimism about a changing culture toward drugs in this year's Tour de France?
I think the riders themselves are having to rethink their strategy because without drugs in their systems, they don't go on forever. They'll no longer be machines. There was a great saying in the Tour de France that even the best rider has a bad day and it's up to the other riders to find that bad day and hit him hard. Well, it was apparent the riders weren't having bad days. They'd come out every day and ride terrific. So, we might see a very different Tour de France this year with big-time gaps opening and riders losing time they're gaining on other days. I'm actually looking forward to a very, very exciting Tour.
So who do you have standing at the top of the podium in Paris on July 29?
I'm sticking with (Alexandre) Vinokourov as the favorite. ... He got really badly treated in the Tour last year (when too many of his teammates were kicked out shortly before the start and eliminated him from riding in the process) and he's come back with revenge in mind.
Will Discovery Channel make some noise in Year 2 AL (After Lance)?
They're obviously going to lean heavily on Levi Leipheimer. I'm just not sure if Levi can go that final step and win the Tour.
For the first time, the Tour begins in London. What's that going to be like?
Everybody's over the moon. There's full-page adverts in the national papers. It's (promoted) on television every day. Certainly, they (organizers) will be disappointed if there's less than 1-million spectators on both days. I think they'll get more. It's going to be a terrific scene and it's going to show London off for what it is - a fantastic city.