Shamed cyclist admits to using performance enhancing drugs
It was the confession heard around the world. After years of lying about blood doping, Lance Armstrong admitted to the world he cheated while winning seven consecutive Tour de France races.
“Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?” Oprah Winfrey asked Armstrong.
The answer was short, sweet and to the point.
“Yes,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said cheating was a fact of life when he was winning the Tour de France. He said he did not think it would have been possible for him to win those races without using drugs like Erthropoyetin (EPO).
Armstrong says the cheating started back in the mid 90's. So why come clean now, months after he was banned from cycling for life?
“I don’t know that I have a great answer. I will start my answer by saying that this is too late. It’s too late for most people, and that’s my fault,” Armstrong stated.
And why did he feel the need to use the banned substances?
“I think it was this just ruthless desire to win, to win at all costs. It serves me well on the bike. It served me well during the disease. But the level that it went to was a flaw,” Armstrong admitted.
The cyclist said he fooled a lot of people over the last fourteen years.
“I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of time,” he told Winfrey.
And he said that no one else deserves the blame for what has happened.
“I don’t want to accuse anyone else. I made my decisions. They are my mistake. I am sorry for that,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong also told Winfrey he deserves everything he gets.
“I’m paying the price for it, and that’s okay,” Armstrong explained. “I deserve this.”
The second part of the Armstrong confession airs tonight on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
