Anatomy of a Photo: Phil Anderson
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.
Towelling pads on the shades. Legendary. It’s he can soak up the gallon of Awesome and sell it to Fabian’s Mum.
Fixed.
Nice one Marko – and he is still racing now – see this article from Cyclingtips.
Scroll down photos to see how Phil looked then and now – still going more than ok. You often see him riding along in Melbourne too – and often quite slowly which is a lesson for all of us.
And I love this story of him racing Hinault taken from his site http://www.philanderson.com.au
Without knowing it, Anderson was to earn even greater wrath from Hinault by naively offering him a swill from his bidon (drink bottle). The Frenchman, taking the gesture as an insult, promptly swiped it from Anderson’s hand. “I didn’t even know who Hinault was. I couldn’t even pronounce his name. But I was there with him and when I gave him my bidon. I was only trying to be sportsmanlike. I figured something was really up when he hit it away. I suppose I should have been intimidated by it all, but I wasn’t. Heck, I was Australian and couldn’t even spell Hinault, let alone know who he was,”
@Marcus
I have been reading some of those recent articles about Anderson. How awesome he’s still slogging along and getting results. Moreover, it’s got to mean something to the youngins coming up down there to have a legend in their ranks. Talk about building tradition.
Although Phil’s observance of the Three-Point System is below par, not much more can suprise me today after seeing a guy riding in the following footwear this afternoon.
Let me add to the abomination by mentioning that… Yes, he was on a road bike and Yes, socks and hairy legs were included with the sandals.
@MrBigCog
Only acceptable if he was riding a VW Westfalia or whitewater raft. And where the hell did you take that picture? It looks like one of those little bathroom mats at my grandma’s house.
I google image searched “sandals with socks”. : )
@MrBigCog
Looks more like you found a yeti out for a ride.
@MrBigCog
Is it just my screen resolution or are his socks covered in lint as well? Could be a pattern but not sure?
@Marko
Thanks for the shout out for Phil.
As Marcus mentioned, it’s not unusual to see him out and about on the road somewhere. Always happy to have a chat and give advice to the youngsters (or oldies, i.e. me). It may already be known, but those glasses and the relationship with Oakley and more importantly, cycle specific eyewear, came about due to an allergy he had.
He was also responsible in the development of certain other innovations amongst the peloton. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong (?) but didn’t he join forces with Shimano in their STI development?
Here are two very cool dudes. My preference is on Sherwin’s very cool white wrap arounds.
Totally rad. Where can I get a supply of those Campy iron-on patches?
@MrBigCog
Those legs made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
@Collin
I suppose you can forget about double or triple-butted tubes for a bike that’s going to support a Yeti. Question is, how well do they climb for their weight? I’m guessing that so long as they don’t get messed with, they wouldn’t be too bad. They’re exactly the right amount of dumb.
(Am I the only one who thinks the guy in the red jersey looks like Roid Landis?)
Frank: I have a proposal for a guest article to your site that has a certain Velominati spin in connection with mountain bike Rules that I think the fellow Velominati would comment on in their typical manner..can I send this to your private email?
@il ciclista medio
Over here on this continent, we believe that Greg LeMond and his background in ski racing are what brought those “ski-goggle”-like shades about. Interesting how those rumors shift based on the riders in question. In any case, he was certainly a pioneer and was a huge factor in helping Shimano develop their STI levers – which could be considered one of the key developments in our sport. I wonder which of those guys invented the internet.
That is a seriously sweet lid he’s got in the Motorola kit.
Very cool guy in any case, and a riot to have watched race. I love it when these guys stay active in the sport after their retirement; like they really loved the bike and can’t leave it. The riders who retire and stop being involved always makes me sad.
What freaks me out most about that picture is that the same dude appears thrice in various disguises. I wonder what mischief he was up to.
You bitches got it all wrong. Oakley has a huge BMX connection. Oakley started making motocross grips in the 70’s that were quickly utilized by the BMX community. Then they came out with goggles in 1980. The goggles quickly turned into Factory Pilots that could be seen on anybody that was anybody in the BMX world.
@mblume
Absolutely – chuck it over to our contribute address and we’ll have a look. Sounds like fun!
@frank
spooky, that is rad.
@frank
I wonder if he is related to this individual on the far right:
Cool pic. Anderson was an awesome rider. Extra cool to read that he still rides.
@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.
@frank
You threw up?…Imagine seeing this while trying to lay down loads of The V on some rolling hills. I pretty much came unclipped and forgot how to balance until I broke the eye socket sucking contact of such a disturbing sight.
@mcsqueak
Note, also, the guy in the blue jacket in the middle practising his conventional finish-line salute. Nice touch. (Unless he’s a crticket umpire and thinks Tiger’s just hit a six.)
The brow pads were a LIE! They basically just held the sweat up until the precise moment when vision could be impared the worst, and then DUMPAROO!
Personally, I put the Oakley sticker on the side as a way to draw attention to my 80’s hair cut ‘lines’ made by the ‘stylist’…
Anderson was an Oakley pioneer as he needed sunnies to protect himself from the glare coming off his teeth.
@MrBigCog
What the fuck were you doing looking at your phone while riding? Hmmm?
The yellow-shirted version is actually G-Phant…
@Brett
“The yellow-shirted version is actually G-Phant…”
Damn. Sprung. I’m the Zelig of the cycling world. Keep an eye out for me at MSR …
@packfiller
Yeah, totally. In fact, most helmet pads have the same effect, unleashing their cache at the single moment of highest vulnerability. Bastids.
@Marcus
Not just his teeth that radiated light. His entire self did. Check out the glint on his back.
@frank
Ummm.. check out the V on the tongue of the shoes! And what kind of bike? A-Merckx, of course.
Anybody else getting a little tingle right about now?
@frank
what about the double disc wheels?!?!?
Light, hell. Phil is radiating Awesomeness. I have to ask: Is your neighbor in Awesomeville?
@sgt
If you look carefully, you can also make out a V formed in his hair by the force of the wind, a bit above his hairline.
@frank
That pic rocks my world
@frank
He is just radiating awesomeness from every pore, orifice and piece of equipment in that photo. Even his left forearm is showing some serious muscle/vein popping action. Equipment glistening in the sunlight.
Smaller front disc,double discs, Oakleys with a shitload of padding, bullhorns, No.7 buzzcut (just long enough to let the locks rock but still maintain the aggro look), Merckx frame, The V shoes, naturally coloured hoods, shit, even the stripes on his shoulders – the complete V-Unit
God I loved those Panasonic kits, so much cooler than most of today’s offerings. Aged 7 i was bought one and from that day i wanted to be PRO. Still trying 29 years later.
I was more of a Eric Vanderaerden fan at that age, i had a photo of him winning the GP Eddy Merckx in 87 on my wall.
Actually until just now i never joined the Velominati dots on that one before!
A-Merckx, an Ericiphany!
@G’phant
If you can rock the ‘tache, yellow polo and a matching yellow jumper complete with sky blue stripes on the arms plus those seriously cool Euro shades while still looking deliberately casual, you are a fashion god. That is one serious statement my (uber cool) friend.
@il ciclista medio
Not to mention the massive guns and Mavic SSC groupset. Man, I wish they’d never made Mektronic (or Zap!) for that matter – and that they still had a reputation for making good components aside from wheels. That crank is the most beautiful ever made.
@il ciclista medio
It’s such a shame that the “German porn star on holiday incognito” look is no longer de rigeur…
@frank
Yetis climb hellaciously well for their weight. No doubt. There’s a simple two-step process for determining good climbers: A) Embraces The V B) Is a fucking yeti. Easy.
@frank
Yep, those guns and that crank. It is freakin’ big and beautiful. The way his right gun’s Vastus externus (thank you Google) pushes out from his hip and pushes the “P” into the background. Seriously sinister guns.
@Zoncolan
I loved the Panansonic kit as well. I remember there was a bloke that used to join our bunch, probably close to 20yrs ago, that rode a Panasonic steel frame! Not sure where he picked it up from or if it was just the decals, but it was a sweet looking bike from memory. And he kicked some arse on it.
@Nate
On the subject of Antipodean exponents of the V, check out this excerpt from the Rouleur blog in the wake of the Awang leg splinter crash at the track worlds: “Edward Dawkins, meanwhile, receiving attention from a trackside medic, was asked where he felt pain. The Kiwi, missing a section of skin from one shoulder practically equal in size to the massive tattoo covering the other, replied that he was from New Zealand. The question was repeated. So was the answer. “Did you not hear me, mate? I’m from New Zealand. We don’t feel pain.””
@Collin
Damn straight Yetis can climb! They’re from the frackin Himalayas, fercrissakes.
Sasquatch is more of a Rouleur, tho. And I believe JiPM can comment on The Skunk Ape. I’m thinking sprinter…
@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?
@G’phant
You really do want to be Australian don’t you?
@G’phant
No one needs to tell the readers of these pages that Kiwis are tough, not that we begrudge an appropriate reminder like this. We respect their exploits but are not surprised when they say “Pain? Yeah right.”
All the same, Mr. Awang of Malaysia is elevanting the art here. I had no idea Malysians were so tough.
@Nate
Getting splinter through leg doesn’t make you tough.
FINISHING THE RACE with splinter through leg makes you a grade A bad arse.
Respect.
Those Mavic cranks looked nice alright, but there aren’t many around these days because they all broke.
Phil is a legend, and the TT pic is a great one.
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…
@Oli Brooke-White
I think you say ‘I’m from New Zealand. We don’t feel pain.’
*sob*