[h=3]By REED ALBERGOTTI and VANESSA O'CONNELL[/h]Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong told the world Thursday evening that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mr. Armstrong said that like many other cyclists before him, he used EPO, human-growth hormone, testosterone and other drugs to compete. "I'm a flawed character," Mr. Armstrong said during the hour-and-a-half program. "I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times."
OWNLance Armstrong admitted to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey Thursday.
The taped show, which was broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network and on the Internet, marked the end of a dozen years of strident denials from Mr. Armstrong, who faced several doping scandals during his career but had, until last summer, escaped punishment from antidoping authorities and scrutiny from his fans and many in the public.
Mr. Armstrong, 41 years old, said doping was so prevalent in professional cycling from the early 1990s to 2005 that saying they needed to take banned substances was like "saying we have to have air in our tires and we have to have water in our bottles."
[h=3]Timeline: A Giant's Fall[/h]
[h=3]Decades of Doping[/h]See some key events involving doping in cycling.
[h=3]Photos: Armstrong's Cycling Career[/h]
Associated Press
[h=3]After the Fall, Turning to TV[/h]After a scandal, other athletes, politicians and celebs have turned to TV. Take a look back.
Eric Draper/Associated PressIn 1995, British actor Hugh Grant was arrested in Los Angeles for solicitation of a prostitute. He addressed the scandal immediately and with humor, on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'
For many cycling fans and observers of Mr. Armstrong, their biggest criticism of the fallen champion hasn't been his alleged doping, but his persistent attacks of those who spoke the truth about doping or chose not to participate in doping.
But in the interview, Mr. Armstrong repeatedly denied he ever pressured riders on his team to use drugs or gave them an ultimatum that if they didn't use drugs they would be off the team. But he said he was a bully, and as the leader of the team he helped perpetuate the atmosphere of doping on the team.
Mr. Armstrong's decision to come clean follows a saga that began in May 2010, when he was accused of doping by his former teammate Floyd Landis. Mr. Landis's accusations, which were sent by email to a small group of cycling officials, were first made public by The Wall Street Journal.
In the interview, Mr. Armstrong said Mr. Landis's accusations marked the beginning of his downfall, citing the Journal story to Ms. Winfrey.
Mr. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year and banned from professional sports for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
In October, USADA chose to release to the public thousands of pages of documents supporting its decision. The documents included affidavits from roughly a dozen of his former teammates, all of whom accused him of doping.
Shortly after USADA released the documents, all of Mr. Armstrong's major sponsors, including Nike, ended their relationship with the athlete, cutting off his major source of income.
One of USADA's accusations was that Mr. Armstrong's doping program was the most sophisticated in all of sports. Mr. Armstrong denied that charge during the interview, saying it was "very conservative, very risk-averse."
Mr. Armstrong's admission could complicate his legal troubles. He is facing a whistleblower suit filed by Mr. Landis with potential damages of roughly $100 million.
He also could face civil suits from an insurance company that paid his Tour de France bonus money and The Sunday Times, a British newspaper that Mr. Armstrong sued for libel. The Times, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp .
Write to Reed Albergotti at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared January 18, 2013, on page A3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Armstrong Admits to 'One Big Lie'.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Mr. Armstrong said that like many other cyclists before him, he used EPO, human-growth hormone, testosterone and other drugs to compete. "I'm a flawed character," Mr. Armstrong said during the hour-and-a-half program. "I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times."
OWNLance Armstrong admitted to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey Thursday.
The taped show, which was broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network and on the Internet, marked the end of a dozen years of strident denials from Mr. Armstrong, who faced several doping scandals during his career but had, until last summer, escaped punishment from antidoping authorities and scrutiny from his fans and many in the public.
Mr. Armstrong, 41 years old, said doping was so prevalent in professional cycling from the early 1990s to 2005 that saying they needed to take banned substances was like "saying we have to have air in our tires and we have to have water in our bottles."
[h=3]Timeline: A Giant's Fall[/h]
[h=3]Decades of Doping[/h]See some key events involving doping in cycling.
[h=3]Photos: Armstrong's Cycling Career[/h]
Associated Press
[h=3]After the Fall, Turning to TV[/h]After a scandal, other athletes, politicians and celebs have turned to TV. Take a look back.
Eric Draper/Associated PressIn 1995, British actor Hugh Grant was arrested in Los Angeles for solicitation of a prostitute. He addressed the scandal immediately and with humor, on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'
For many cycling fans and observers of Mr. Armstrong, their biggest criticism of the fallen champion hasn't been his alleged doping, but his persistent attacks of those who spoke the truth about doping or chose not to participate in doping.
But in the interview, Mr. Armstrong repeatedly denied he ever pressured riders on his team to use drugs or gave them an ultimatum that if they didn't use drugs they would be off the team. But he said he was a bully, and as the leader of the team he helped perpetuate the atmosphere of doping on the team.
Mr. Armstrong's decision to come clean follows a saga that began in May 2010, when he was accused of doping by his former teammate Floyd Landis. Mr. Landis's accusations, which were sent by email to a small group of cycling officials, were first made public by The Wall Street Journal.
In the interview, Mr. Armstrong said Mr. Landis's accusations marked the beginning of his downfall, citing the Journal story to Ms. Winfrey.
Mr. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year and banned from professional sports for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
In October, USADA chose to release to the public thousands of pages of documents supporting its decision. The documents included affidavits from roughly a dozen of his former teammates, all of whom accused him of doping.
Shortly after USADA released the documents, all of Mr. Armstrong's major sponsors, including Nike, ended their relationship with the athlete, cutting off his major source of income.
One of USADA's accusations was that Mr. Armstrong's doping program was the most sophisticated in all of sports. Mr. Armstrong denied that charge during the interview, saying it was "very conservative, very risk-averse."
Mr. Armstrong's admission could complicate his legal troubles. He is facing a whistleblower suit filed by Mr. Landis with potential damages of roughly $100 million.
He also could face civil suits from an insurance company that paid his Tour de France bonus money and The Sunday Times, a British newspaper that Mr. Armstrong sued for libel. The Times, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp .
Write to Reed Albergotti at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared January 18, 2013, on page A3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Armstrong Admits to 'One Big Lie'.