Anatomy of a Photo: Phil Anderson

Phil Rockin the Eye Shades

In honor of the first Australian to win KBK it seems appropriate to give a Chapeau to our mates down under.  Congrats to perhaps the greatest up and coming cycling nation on earth and to Chris Sutton for a show of strength in what was a free-for-all to the finish in Kuurne today.

Lest our mates get too cocky though, have a look at the egregious attempt at the three-point system from the first Aussie to wear yellow in the tour.  Yes, Phil is a stud and the hair net and eye shades rule.   But in order for them to work some adjustment needed to be made.

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98 Replies to “Anatomy of a Photo: Phil Anderson”

  1. Marcus:
    @G’phant
    You really do want to be Australian don’t you?

    Only when thinking about cricket. Or surfing. Or tennis. Or rugby league. Or, sometimes, rugby union. Or cycling. Or weather. Or mineral wealth and balanced budgets. Otherwise, never.

  2. il ciclista medio:
    @frank
    and one more thing I just noticed in the original photo – is the woman in pink making a wanking gesture? Now if so, surely it’s not towards our Phil. Must be to the bloke beside her?

    They’re playing scissors, paper, rock for who gets to ask Phil for an autograph. You can se the guy is going for scissors. Loser.

  3. Love the shades and Panasonic jersey, but Phil does have to work on leveling that hairnet.

    @BigCog – Sadly, you are not alone in this sighting. There is a dude who shows up to our Thursday night road ride/race on a touring bike with bags sometimes still on…and with those sandals. Ugh. And maybe the most annoying part is that the guy has a custom touring bike, so ain’t poor. Please, buddy, just buy some close-toed shoes. I’d even accept mtn. shoes, just not the sandals.

    (I must admit a bit of me thinks it’s kind of cool how little he cares, but then again, if we just ignore The Rules, where does that leave us?)

  4. Damn, the “then and now” photos from cyclingtips had me thinking that was Cipo. I think it was the hair that threw me off for a minute.

    Either way, Phil has some serious guns in the then photo, plus some sweet as hair, and some fine white-framed shades going on. That’s a great photograph!

  5. Awesomeness is that when the Tiger Woods-mustachioed man photo came out I rolled my eyes and moved on. Golf, fuck it.

    Yet here I am reading through every comment about the Phil Anderson photo. Without some keen eyes on others I’d never have noticed the rock, paper, scissors/wank in the background. Fine analysis!

    It’s also awesome that some of you grew up with cycling posters on your wall. I’ve full embraced the Velominati Method at this point, but I can’t imagine doing it since I was seven. That is phenomenal. Took me far too long to work through other sports on my way to cycling.

  6. G’phant:

    Marcus:
    @G’phant
    You really do want to be Australian don’t you?

    Only when thinking about cricket. Or surfing. Or tennis. Or rugby league. Or, sometimes, rugby union. Or cycling. Or weather. Or mineral wealth and balanced budgets. Otherwise, never.

    If ever make my feature film I am headed straight to the Land of the Long White Cloud. With Jake the Muss in a leading role of course.

  7. The gruppo on the TT bike is Campag Record with Dia Compe aero levers, (not Mavic SSC) as Campag still had old style levers with cables from the top at the time. Not very aero.
    Phil & Jesper Skibby were the two riders that race tested STI before Shimano put it into production, one of the Shimano engineers travelled with them for the last months of the 1989 season and stripped the levers down & tested them after every race once the TVM mechanics had washed the bikes. I spent 30 minutes watching him at the 1989 Nissan Classic in Ireland after a stage testing the shift of the levers which looked almost handmade.
    Anderson was the V, he always turned up at the Kellogs tour in England & the Nissan in Ireland every year and won a stage & or a stage & the overall GC.
    Also the photo of the Collstrop rider posted by ‘il ciclista medio’ is Englishman Harry Lodge, not Phil A. The photo below it is Anderson & Sean Kelly in Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1989 in the race winning break with Pedro Delgado & Fabrice Philipot of Toshiba team. Kelly won with Phil Anderson 3rd, what a break with those two animals holding off the chase group by 5 seconds. 1989 the year of years for cycling!

  8. @ roche kelly – Damn, that’s a great post. Thanks for all the info, the identifications, and the background on the STI tests. All very cool.

  9. @roche kelly

    The gruppo on the TT bike is Campag Record with Dia Compe aero levers, (not Mavic SSC) as Campag still had old style levers with cables from the top at the time. Not very aero.

    Absolutely spot on. I don’t know how I made that mistake, but you’re absolutely right. Still, though – I loved that SSC crank.

    Very cool story. It’s interesting that the picture that got you going about the STI testing (Shimano Total Integration) collaboration has him riding a mixed bag of components. Shimano’s effort to force all the components to be from one group seem to have been successful, since these days even brakes and their levers are paired and can’t be split up. I miss the days of mixing Simplex shifters with Campy mechs and Dia-comp levers with Mavic brakes. Picking a group for their best bits was the true way of the Velominatus.

  10. @il ciclista medio

    is the woman in pink making a wanking gesture? Now if so, surely it’s not towards our Phil. Must be to the bloke beside her?

    Is that a woman??

    I thought it was a lad in a salmon-colored jumper. Either way, definitely making the gesture at the tool standing next to her/him. I mean, look at the guy. Obviously.

  11. @Oli Brooke-White

    As he autographed a Motorola jersey for me a few years back he used my back to support it saying, “Hur, hur, I’m giving it to you from behind! You Kiwis love that don’t ya?” For once in my life I truly didn’t know what to say…

    Beautiful! He just went a few rungs up the ladder in my book.

  12. Dan O:

    @Cyclops – you are correct sir, concerning the history of Oakley – got their start as grip company for motocross, then exploded with the BMX scene. Interview with Mike Bell and the history of Oakley here: http://www.oakley.com/sports/bmx/posts/2709
    I rode with Oakley Eyeshades for awhile. Still have ’em sitting in the garage somewhere.

    The roots go deep. Cyclops (#607) bringing it home for the ’96 Idaho State Championships title.

  13. @Cyclops
    Dude, WHAT THE FUCK is up with the dude’s face on the left? It looks like he should be riding a Derney, not racing BMX. That is a weird picture.

  14. Ron:
    There is a dude who shows up to our Thursday night road ride/race on a touring bike with bags sometimes still on…and with those sandals. Ugh. And maybe the most annoying part is that the guy has a custom touring bike, so ain’t poor. Please, buddy, just buy some close-toed shoes. I’d even accept mtn. shoes, just not the sandals.
    (I must admit a bit of me thinks it’s kind of cool how little he cares, but then again, if we just ignore The Rules, where does that leave us?)

    There was a guy that showed up at a group ride this past summer with open-toe sandals, flat pedals, and a pannier rack and bag. He also wondered when we were stopping for a lunch break (without irony). He made it through the 73 km ride, but we never saw him again.

  15. @Marko

    Funny story about that guy. He’s from Boise on the west side of the state and I’m from Idaho Falls on the east side. He got his three 1st place scores on the west side and I got mine on the east side so we were both bringing perfect scores into the State Championship. The thing is that I heard all year that he was talking shit about me and how he was gonna kill me in the SC. I didn’t lose a moto and kicked his ass all weekend an won the SC “while picking my nose.” About 5 seconds after that photo was taking he tried to come up under me and pimp me in the first turn but crashed instead. I got it on video and he stands up and picks his bike up over his head and slams it to the ground. I liked it a lot.

    Of course, when I went to Nationals I got my ass handed to me and never made it out of the motos so there you go.

  16. @frank
    Thanks for the welcome Frank, Buck Rogers & Ron. I have been dipping in to velominati for a while now after following a link to Rule #5 from another site. Love the rules & especially #5! When I had to decide if I went out in the rain to ride last Sunday I decided to follow the rule!
    Regarding Mavic SSC Frank, totally with you on the chainset for that gruppo, I still have the chainset on an old steel bike with the Mavic SSC sealed cartridge Bottom Bracket. The bottom bracket was bought back in the late eighties and is still smooth & working without ever being serviced. This bike was originally set up with a Mavic drive train, Simplex gear levers. Sadly from another era now, but the quality of those components still shines through & they could really take a hammering when needed. Especially when belted by a Mr Sean Kelly over cobbles in the rain heading to Roubaix.

  17. roche kelly :
    The gruppo on the TT bike is Campag Record with Dia Compe aero levers, (not Mavic SSC) as Campag still had old style levers with cables from the top at the time. Not very aero.Phil & Jesper Skibby were the two riders that race tested STI before Shimano put it into production, one of the Shimano engineers travelled with them for the last months of the 1989 season and stripped the levers down & tested them after every race once the TVM mechanics had washed the bikes. I spent 30 minutes watching him at the 1989 Nissan Classic in Ireland after a stage testing the shift of the levers which looked almost handmade.Anderson was The V, he always turned up at the Kellogs tour in England & the Nissan in Ireland every year and won a stage & or a stage & the overall GC.Also the photo of the Collstrop rider posted by ‘il ciclista medio’ is Englishman Harry Lodge, not Phil A. The photo below it is Anderson & Sean Kelly in Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1989 in the race winning break with Pedro Delgado & Fabrice Philipot of Toshiba team. Kelly won with Phil Anderson 3rd, what a break with those two animals holding off the chase group by 5 seconds. 1989 the year of years for cycling!

    My mistake and I blame Google images as they had his name listed below.(that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).
    Brilliant post BTW. I had recently read the same story re: Phil A. and Shimano, which was a two part series on the man and his legacy to the sport, in “Ride” magazine.
    With your apparent wealth of knowledge, feel free to correct errors on my behalf.
    Irashaimase

  18. Marko :
    @CyclopsDude, WHAT THE FUCK is up with the dude’s face on the left? It looks like he should be riding a Derney, not racing BMX. That is a weird picture.

    Either that Dr. Evil’s offsider or on Fantasy Island

  19. Looking at the photos, the one where he sport the TVM jersey, you can see that his bike is a Zullo, a beautiful Italian steel bike, still in production.
    I think that the Kelly Concord was Italian too…

  20. Zullo may indeed make beautiful frames, but that pus yellow with white and grey streaks paintjob TVM used the following season was a crime against humanity…

  21. I’ve seen a Zullo in person with that paint job and couldn’t agree more, Oli. I was in my LBS one day and my friend, who works there, brings over a dude who also likes steel Italian bikes, as I do. We shake hands, then he turns to grab his bike…and it’s a Zullo with that pus paint job! Very nice frameset, insanely bad paint job. I just tried to smile and be nice. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking buying a bike with such a horrendous paint scheme.

    Zullo had a booth at the 2010 NAHBS in Richmond. I can’t recall if this paint scheme was on display, but I hope it wasn’t.

    And in the BMX photo of Cyclops, is that really 1996? Or is it 1986?

  22. @Pedale.Forchetta

    Looking at the photos, the one where he sport the TVM jersey, you can see that his bike is a Zullo, a beautiful Italian steel bikhe, still in production.I think that the Kelly Concord was Italian too…

    Ah, indeed it was. Much like this one…

    He, of course would have had the Columbus SLX Squadra, whilst this one was the humble Columbus SL Gavina.

    I also had the Dia Compe aero levers as I swapped out the old Super Record ones. I think the Dia Compe ones worked much better than the Campag aero offering at the time.

  23. Must be a heavy sadlle on that one – check out the compression on the tyres

  24. @mouse

    @Pedale.Forchetta

    Looking at the photos, the one where he sport the TVM jersey, you can see that his bike is a Zullo, a beautiful Italian steel bikhe, still in production.I think that the Kelly Concord was Italian too…

    Ah, indeed it was. Much like this one…

    He, of course would have had the Columbus SLX Squadra, whilst this one was the humble Columbus SL Gavina.
    I also had the Dia Compe aero levers as I swapped out the old Super Record ones. I think the Dia Compe ones worked much better than the Campag aero offering at the time.

    Those PDM Concorde’s were some of my all-time favorite bikes ever. Just a quick scan of the list of dude’s who stomped on those things, and it’s enough to bring a tear to your eye.

  25. I liked those Concorde’s and the color scheme so much that I picked up one of the PDM jerseys. Darn thing has always been a bit big on me.

  26. @frank
    Yeah, I know.
    Consider it an expediency for the time.
    Everything was going ‘aero’ at the time.
    The first generation Campag aero levers didn’t work particularly well due to the way the cable routing worked.
    The Dia Compe ones had a much better method of routing as well as a better placed pivot.
    I could brake from the hoods with these where I never could with the Campag ones.
    Hmmm. Seems like I’m making excuses.

  27. Oh, and the other thing to note was that Sean Kelly actually rode on those very wheels.
    I had just had them built up by the shop in Toronto that I was racing for at the time.
    For some reason or other I was away the week that there was a big summer crit that attracted some big guys to come over. Bauer was there, Kelly and many others.
    In any case, when I picked up my wheels, the guys told me about it.
    I always imagined that a bit of the hard man may have rubbed off. Sadly I was deluding myself.
    Kelly was kind enough to autograph a PDM hat for me.

  28. @mouse

    Oh, and the other thing to note was that Sean Kelly actually rode on those very wheels.
    I had just had them built up by the shop in Toronto that I was racing for at the time.
    For some reason or other I was away the week that there was a big summer crit that attracted some big guys to come over. Bauer was there, Kelly and many others.
    In any case, when I picked up my wheels, the guys told me about it.
    I always imagined that a bit of the hard man may have rubbed off. Sadly I was deluding myself.
    Kelly was kind enough to autograph a PDM hat for me.

    THAT is a fucking cool story, mate.

  29. @Oli Brooke-White

    Zullo may indeed make beautiful frames, but that pus yellow with white and grey streaks paintjob TVM used the following season was a crime against humanity…

    I’ve been trying to work out what the hell is going on with that saddle.
    Looks like some kind if fairing.
    Damn ugly addition to the poo coloured frame.

  30. Phil Anderson, my all time sporting hero who stands head and shoulders above the others, Cadel, Stuie and Neil Stephens included! A Hardman! At the time I had to own a pair of these Factory Pilots just because Phil did. They were terrible! The foam pad would collect the sweat for an hour and then , all of a sudden, super-saturated stinging sweat would pour into your eyes!

  31. Sorry to drag things down this route, but I saw Anderson interviewed on Aust. TV recently where it was alleged he was present in the hotel room when the then 21 year old COTHO bribed ($50K) a couple of Italian riders to help him take the $1M prize for crossing the line first (I can’t call it winning) in all three of the triple crown races in the USA. Anderson was like a rabbit in the headlights, umming and ahhhing and generally coming across as guilty as all fuck. It really left me in no doubt that he was aware of Pharmstrong being a cheating pile of shit from the very earliest days.

    Gutted.

    Reminds me of a line on The Paul Hogan Show when I was a kid..”it’s kind of like finding out that Muhammad Ali is a poofter”

    *please excuse 70’s Aussie bogan homophobia

  32. @El Segundo

    Phil was my idol when I started racing  in the 80’s. Have a autographed cap as well as collected any newspaper results/reports that I could get as cycling news wasn’t as big as it is now. Even posters up on my bedroom wall. My LBS gave me the old Shimano calendars that had wide, landscape pic of most of the classic european races, kept the ones with PA in them.

    Saw that said interview and like you was gutted. All the umming and aaring, he arrrs a lot anyway, had guilty all over.

    Now every time I see him talking, as the late great Bill Hicks once said,

    every word that comes out of your mouth is now like a turd falling into my drink…”

  33. @sthilzy I dare say you were more disappointed than I, me being just a kid and a casual observer in Phil’s day. He was still a hero to me though.

    In retrospect my interest was purely nationalistic, and I never raced, I just liked riding my bike. The same bike I’m rebuilding now. That’s a great quote from Bill Hicks too, but it’s a shame to be introduced to it in this context.

    All this doping/cheating shit really makes me question how realistic it is to have naively expected more from these guys, as if they should somehow be immune from human frailties. Though I’ve despised cheating ever since playing footy in primary school, I shudder to think how I’d answer some difficult questions about my distant past. From the way he responded to those questions, I dare say it plays on Phil’s mind to this day.

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