Cycling great Lance Armstrong to admit to doping in Oprah interview

Austin, TX, United States (4E Sports) – In a complete turnaround, Lance Armstrong will admit to doping during his cycling career in his scheduled interview with Oprah Winfrey Monday, according to a person close to the disgraced cyclist.

The person, who requested anonymity, told USA Today that Armstrong plans to admit to using banned performance-enhancing substances throughout his cycling career that led to seven Tour de France victories, which was later stripped from him.

However, the source said Armstrong will not get into details about specific cases and events.

The interview will be conducted and taped at Armstrong’s home in Austin, Texas and will be aired Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

In the past, the 41-year-old Armstrong vehemently denied using illegal drugs during his career.

However, Armstrong was put in a bind after U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive amount of evidence that showed he used performance-enhancing drugs and used blood transfusion to prevent testing positive.

After the report was made public, sponsors dropped Armstrong and the cyclist was forced step down from Livestrong, the cancer-fighting charity he founded, to shield it from controversies.

Earlier, the New York Times reported that Armstrong was planning to make the move to persuade anti-doping officials to restore his eligibility so he can resume his athletic career in triathlon and running.

The newspaper reported that Armstrong had met with USADA chief Travis Tygart in an effort to mitigate the lifetime ban he received for playing a lead role in doping on his Tour-winning teams.

According to the World Anti-Doping Code, an athlete might be eligible for a reduced punishment if he fully confesses and details how he doped, who helped him dope and how he got away with doping.

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