Lance Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey is about to get underway, the discussion expected to open with Winfrey reminding the disgraced cycling champion that she is not bound by conditions and that the interview is “an open field.”
After years of firm denials, Armstrong is expected to make some confessions to Winfrey about his use of performance-enhancing drugs and banned methods while winning seven Tour de France titles.
The 41-year-old, who was stripped of the Tour titles and slapped with a lifetime competition ban last year, was scorched in a 1,000-plus-page report released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October.
PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong through the years
That report included statements from 11 former Armstrong teammates about the cyclist’s use of testosterone, energy boosting EPO and other banned methods, with some saying they were pressured to break rules as Armstrong did.
While Armstrong avoided a dirty drug test during the Tours, his teammates and others revealed the sophisticated steps he took to time his doping and hide from testers, relying on the expertise of a doctor to help him beat the system.
PHOTOS: Sports scandals, present and past
Since the report, Armstrong has lost every major sponsor who had supported him and has parted with the cancer-fighting charity Livestrong he helped create.
He might face legal repercussions from his statements to Winfrey, including a civil claim and a whistleblower lawsuit against him filed by former teammate Floyd Landis.
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After years of firm denials, Armstrong is expected to make some confessions to Winfrey about his use of performance-enhancing drugs and banned methods while winning seven Tour de France titles.
The 41-year-old, who was stripped of the Tour titles and slapped with a lifetime competition ban last year, was scorched in a 1,000-plus-page report released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in October.
PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong through the years
That report included statements from 11 former Armstrong teammates about the cyclist’s use of testosterone, energy boosting EPO and other banned methods, with some saying they were pressured to break rules as Armstrong did.
While Armstrong avoided a dirty drug test during the Tours, his teammates and others revealed the sophisticated steps he took to time his doping and hide from testers, relying on the expertise of a doctor to help him beat the system.
PHOTOS: Sports scandals, present and past
Since the report, Armstrong has lost every major sponsor who had supported him and has parted with the cancer-fighting charity Livestrong he helped create.
He might face legal repercussions from his statements to Winfrey, including a civil claim and a whistleblower lawsuit against him filed by former teammate Floyd Landis.
ALSO:
Watch Manti Te'o speak about fake girlfriend
Ryan Leaf kicked out of rehab house, sent to prison
Kobe, Howard, Paul and Griffin selected to NBA All-Star team