January 15 (RIA Novosti) - American cycling superstar Lance Armstrong, who overcame cancer to win the elite Tour de France competition seven consecutive times, and has defiantly denied using performance-enhancing drugs, has admitted to doping in an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, according to numerous sources cited by American media.
"I think he was just, ready. I think the velocity of everything that's come at him in the past several months and the past several weeks, he was just ready," Winfrey told “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday.
The interview – taped in Austin, Texas on Monday – is scheduled to air over the course of two nights, beginning Thursday on Winfrey’s OWN network.
Last year the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stripped Armstrong of all the titles he had won since 1998 and announced a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Agency code, finding in its report that as a champion cyclist, Armstrong took part in and helped enforce “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
In an effort to reduce the ban, Armstrong is set to testify against officials from the International Cycling Union, which governs the sport, reported The New York Times, citing “people with knowledge of the situation.”
CBS News reports Armstrong is negotiating the possible return of a portion of money his team – sponsored by the US Postal Service – received, an amount said to be in the millions.
Winfrey described Armstrong as “emotional” at times during the interview, telling CBS that "emotional doesn't begin to describe the intensity of the difficulty that I think he experienced in talking about some of these things."
She also called it “certainly the biggest interview I’ve ever done in terms of its exposure.”
