Oprah: Lance Armstrong admits he is a drug cheat ‘but doesn’t come clean’

LANCE Armstrong, the most famous cyclist in history, will tomorrow bring to an end his decade-long denials over doping by finally admitting he relied on performance-enhancing drugs during his glittering career.

In a public confession before a worldwide audience of millions, the seven-times winner of the Tour de France is expected to apologise to his friends and colleagues in an emotional interview with US talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.

The 41-year-old, who enthralled a generation of road-race cycling enthusiasts with his indomitable performances – even after recovering from the cancer that almost cost him his life – was stripped of his titles last year.

The US Anti-Doping Agency had earlier issued a damning, 1,000-page report that accused him of masterminding the “most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programming that sport has ever seen”, involving anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, blood transfusions and other doping.

In the aftermath of the publication, Armstrong lost most of his lucrative endorsements and faced an angry backlash from many of his fans, who were left feeling cheated.

The cyclist continued to offer strenuous denials over his use of drugs, but is now set to perform a U-turn.

Yesterday, Armstrong did not confirm the details of what emerged during the two-and-a-half-hour interview, which were leaked by anonymous sources close to the programme.

However, Ms Winfrey said she was “satisfied” with how the confessional interview went, even if Armstrong did not

follow the path she expected him to.

“I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected,” she said. “It was surprising to me. I would say for myself, my team … we were mesmerised and riveted by some of his answers.

“I feel he answered the questions in a way that [suggested] he was ready. I can only say I was satisfied with the answers.”

Asked on the CBS This Morning programme if Armstrong was contrite during the interview, she added: “I choose not to characterise. I would rather people make their own decisions about whether he was contrite or not.”

A source said that after recording the interview on Monday, Armstrong gave an emotional apology to staff at the Livestrong Foundation charity he founded in 1997 and built up into a global force, thanks in large part to the Texan’s personal story of overcoming testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.

Sir Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France champion, said: “You’ve seen the reaction to it the last few months – there’s a lot of angry people about that are taking their frustrations out and venting their anger in all different

directions.

“They need that closure in their life really, because they’ve been battling for so long for this … it’ll be a great day for a lot of people, and quite a sad day for the sport in some ways, but it’s been a sad couple of months for the sport in that sense – the 1990s are pretty much a write-off now.”

Briton Nicole Cooke, the 2008 Olympic and world road-race champion, said Armstrong would never be able to atone for his tainted past, explaining: “He will never give back the careers and the opportunities and the dreams that were stolen from so many people.

“It’s outrageous, everything that he’s done. The bullying, everything else.”

While some will likely hope the confession will revive his tarnished public image, the interview alone will not herald an end to the fallout from Armstrong’s transgressions.

It is expected the US justice department will join a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the cyclist by former team-mate Floyd Landis. The False Claims Act lawsuit could result in Armstrong paying a substantial amount of money to the US government. The US Postal Service was a long-time sponsor of his racing career.

The government of South Australia said yesterday it would seek damages or compensation from Armstrong after it paid him

several million pounds in appearance fees for the Tour Down Under races in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The first part of the Armstrong interview on the Oprah show – broadcast on Ms Winfrey’s own network – is due to be shown at 9pm local time tomorrow.