Lance Armstrong i d Probably Cheat Again Transcribed for Me
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Shamed cyclist Lance Armstrong believes the time is coming when he should exist forgiven for doping and lying - and told the BBC he would probably do it again.
Armstrong, 43, was stripped of his record 7 Tour de France titles and banned from sport for life by the United States Anti-Doping Bureau (Usada) in August 2012.
"If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't exercise it again because I don't think you take to," he said.
"If yous take me back to 1995, when doping was completely pervasive, I would probably practise it over again."
Speaking in his first television interview since confessing to Oprah Winfrey that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during his career, Armstrong tells BBC sports editor Dan Roan:
- The "fallout" since his confession has been "heavy" and he at present lives his life at 10mph, not 100.
- His conclusion to dope was "bad", just taken at "an imperfect time".
- He still feels similar he won the seven Tour titles he was stripped of.
- He raced clean during his 2d comeback in 2009 and 2010.
| Watch: Armstrong on drugs, history and the futurity | |
| Armstrong abridged interview transcript | |
| Armstrong two years on - the same, but different | |
Armstrong had been the subject of doping allegations since he returned from cancer in 1996 to dominate one of the world's toughest events from 1999 to 2005.
He aggressively denied the claims until Usada's 200-page "reasoned decision" - consummate with ane,000 additional pages of prove - was released in October 2012.
Armstrong finally confessed in a two-part interview with Usa talk-testify host Winfrey in January, 2013.
He was forced to step abroad from the cancer charity he had founded and has since kept his counsel, save for a handful of print interviews.
Speaking in his hometown of Austin, Texas, Armstrong said "the fallout" from his confession had been "heavy, tough, trying and required patience".
The father-of-five said his life had "thinned out" and "slowed from 100mph to 10", but added he would like to render to "50, 55".
| Lance Armstrong - the titles | |
|---|---|
| Bout de France titles (later on stripped): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 | |
| Earth Championships road race: 1993 | |
Every bit for whether the world was ready to have his render to public life, Armstrong said: "Selfishly, I would say 'yeah, we're getting close to that time'.
"But that'south me, my word doesn't matter whatever more. What matters is what people collectively remember, whether that's the cycling community, the cancer community.
"Listen, of course I want to exist out of timeout, what kid doesn't?"
Armstrong was asked if he would make the same option to cheat that he made in 1995.
He said: "When I made the conclusion, when my team made that decision, when the whole peloton made that decision, it was a bad decision and an imperfect time.
"Only it happened. And I know what happened because of that. I know what happened to the sport, I saw its growth."
Armstrong said sales at his bicycle supplier Trek Bicycles went from $100m (£66.5m) to $1bn and his charity foundation went from "raising no money to raising $500m, serving three million people".
He added: "Do we want to accept it abroad? I don't think anybody says 'yep'."
Armstrong did admit to "unacceptable and inexcusable" behaviour towards other people during his career.
Former rider Filippo Simeoni angered Armstrong by testifying against his coach/doctor, Michele Ferrari, in a 2002 Italian doping case. The American called him a liar and denied the Italian a stage win in the 2004 Tour.
Armstrong also responded with legal threats and personal smears when Emma O'Reilly, a masseuse at his US Postal team, provided some of the earliest details on his doping.
"I would want to change the human being that did those things, maybe non the conclusion, only the way he acted," he continued.
"The way he treated people, the style he couldn't terminate fighting. Information technology was unacceptable, inexcusable."
He added he had been "an arsehole to a dozen people" and had spent the past ii years trying to make amends, with varying results.
Armstrong was equally forthright on what should happen to his Tour titles, which take not been reallocated, such was the extent of cycling'south doping problem at the time.
"I call back there has to be a winner, I'1000 but maxim that as a fan," he said.
"There's a huge cake in Earth State of war One with no winners, and there'due south another block in World War Two, and and then it seems similar there's another earth state of war.
"I don't call up history is stupid, history rectifies a lot of things. If you inquire me what happens in l years, I don't think it sits empty... I feel like I won those Tours."
Armstrong reiterated his promise that he raced clean during his second comeback in 2009 and 2010, contrary to Usada's written report, and said he would exist the starting time to release his samples for retesting as shortly equally a exam for claret transfusions is developed.
He also confirmed he has spoken to the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) on 2 occasions and is now waiting to meet if it will recommend a reduction in his ban, something that would allow him to "compete in some sport at a adequately loftier level", but besides heighten money for charity.
Armstrong was less forthcoming on his legal battle with former team-mate Floyd Landis and the Department of Justice. That case, which hinges on whether his squad's sponsor, the US Postal Service, was defrauded of about $40m (£26.5m), is unlikely to exist heard in courtroom until 2016.
Merely he admitted the strain of his legal issues was telling, and he looked forward to a time without lawyers and worries about what his children might hear at school.
A 30-minute documentary, Lance Armstrong: The Road Alee, will exist broadcast on BBC News at 20:30 GMT on Thursday, 29 January, and over again over the following days on that channel and BBC Earth News. An extended edit of Dan Roan's interview will also exist available on the BBC iPlayer.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/30981609
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