"I was commentating at the 1980 Commonwealth Games in Auckland when a bloke called Stephen Phillips suddenly announced me as the voice of cycling. I had nothing to do with it," said Liggett, 67, this week.
His voice has become synonymous with cycling since he first picked up the microphone in 1978. He is to the sport what Murray Walker was to Formula One, although sans the eye-patch his British compatriot wore in the commentary box.
Liggett, an amateur rider of promise, raised eyebrows in the late 1960s when he opted for journalism instead of a pro cycling career.
"I was like a cat on a hot tin roof. I was better than most but not as good as some. I was a contemporary of Eddie Merckx and, of course, I couldn't beat him," Liggett explained.
He preferred chasing stories to trying to catch the five-time Tour de France winner, and got his big break in 1978. "Someone from one of the big networks heard me commentating and offered me a job.
"Things developed from there and I've been really fortunate since.
"I was only a freelancer, which meant I could commentate across several networks, and I think I was the only one to do so. To be honest, I've never asked for any of this," said Liggett.
His self-deprecating view of his career leads one to believe he hasn't been required to professionally scale a Mont Ventoux or an Alpe d'Huez.
"I haven't really experienced hardship in the industry. I've just been fortunate," he said disarmingly.
His involvement with the Tour de France has been an enduring love affair. But as much as the Tour has produced a pantheon of champions, Liggett knows it's the "nearly men" who have inadvertently been king makers.
"The best rider never to win the Tour is Raymond Poulidor ('60s and '70s)," said Liggett.
The Frenchman finished runner-up three times and third on five occasions.
It is easy to see why he is a Liggett favourite. Poulidor had the misfortune of seeing his career overlap with that of five-time winners Jacques Anquetil and later Merckx.
"He really became the people's champion," recalled Liggett.
Poulidor's plight became so well-known that the term "Poulidor Complex" entered the lexicon as an expression of hardship.
Paradoxically, had Poulidor won the Tour, it is argued, he would not have been revered as much.
Liggett can't quite put his finger on why individuals frequently dominate the Tour, but he knows they increasingly owe it to their teammates' toil.
"You need to be able to climb and time trial well, but you also need a strong team. Even if you are a very good rider you simply cannot beat a strong team.
"I think that's why Alberto Contador (the 2009 champion) might struggle next year. His team won't be as strong as it was this year."
Contador's former Astana teammates Andreas Kloden, Yaroslav Popovych and Levi Leipheimer have all followed Tour legend Lance Armstrong to Team RadioShack. South Africa's Daryl Impey will also be in their ranks.
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