Lance Armstrong: 'I'd probably cheat again'

Subscribe to BBC News / bbcnews
Disgraced former cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted he'd "probably" cheat again if taken back to the tarnished era of the 1990's. In his first TV interview since his confession, the American told the BBC he was keen to have his life ban lifted. Armstrong was stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles after being found guilty of doping. He's been speaking exclusively to our Sports Editor Dan Roan.
Subscribe to BBC News HERE bit.ly/1rbfUog
Check out our website: www.bbc.com/news
Facebook: / bbcworldnews
Twitter: / bbcworld
Instagram: / bbcnews

[@hoboroller5642]

Arnold Schwarzenegger's quote there's only two types of champions ones that do steroids and ones that lie about doing steroids. Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes in encyclopedia to modern body building

[@the503creepout7]

I completely understand that point of view. Perhaps McGuire/Sosa/Bonds/Conseco see it that way too. When you're in a competitive professional environment & u see people around u getting ahead by cheating - it's difficult not to b tempted to behave as they do. I've never had the pressure of being a pro-athlete on my shoulders but I'm still confident in my judgment that when u begin cheating to keep up, you have become part of the corruption. Sadly, when I hear Armstrong say he'd do it again or spout off $figures about bike sales & charities(as noble as those endeavors may be) I interpret that as someone who is still making excuses for the role they played in amplifying the problem.

[@lavielemond]

@Mr. MERCEDES 95 Amen, Mr Mercedes...

[@jamesguy6161]

That makes sense for bodybuilding, but not cycling. I am confident he meant for bodybuilding

[@OregonCrow]

He never said that.

[@Tang526]

So basically if u want to win. U do all u can too

[@cpy]

BBC: "Would you cheat again?" Lance: "Today, No. Back then again, yes." Lance: "It's an answer that needs some explanation [context]" BBC: LANCE SAID HE'D CHEAT AGAIN bbc....(smh)

[@THE______TRUTH]

Ikr? Journalists can be such pricks. He's being honest. People make mistakes sometimes they are bad people. People change. He knows his weakness and he is admitting it and being vulnerable. He didnt deserve those medals but he deserves forgivness. If you cant find that empathy in your heart that you can never have empathy for yourself when you screw up and believe me....everyone screws up. Nobody is a saint.

[@twenty1688]

It’s called click bait bro

[@JackIsNotInTheBox]

GOTTA GET DAT KZbin MONEY YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING???

[@megamindvs2514]

Get the fudge out of here with those titles BBC 🤣

[@GunsNRoses1123]

Actually for once seemed like a very honest comment, rather he say everything honestly than keep on lying.

[@BjkxeDKjsje]

Shame the BBC has to put up such a contextually misleading headline.

[@muserussell2377]

Divakar its not, he said he would do it again. Only people who thinks it needs more context is those who dont care about what he did

[@davidjohnson8655]

You'd use the exact same headline. He literally said if he'd go back to 1995 he'd do it again. I've always supported Lance as an athlete and for his support to charities, now more people will get to hear the story that makes us continue to look up to him.

[@davidjohnson8655]

Also they aren't in court they don't have to use verbatim. Is it misleading to replace "it" with "cheating" when "it" literally refers to cheating? I think the problem was that he didn't give any click baiting quotes, and they were trying to promote his message. If they used this interview to mislead him and make him look terrible, I'd agree its bad. I don't think journalists should run smear pieces, but they have every right to try and promote whatever they wish.

[@davidjohnson8655]

That's a completely unrelated comparison, and in no way a defense of verbatim. In your case the quote would've been taken verbatim, but it would be out of context, however the context obviously implies something that is completely opposite to the quote. You also brought race in to emphasize a point when there was nothing there before. He said I wouldn't cheat now because nobody does it anymore. If everyone was doing it, "Yeah I'd probably do it again". That's not taking anything out of context, that's making the most common editorial quote change in the history of media to bring people's attention because Lance basically said if I had to do it over again, I'd probably cheat again. Therefore the title is not misleading, or disingenuous at all. I'm not knocking Lance one bit, he doesn't want an unfair advantage, he just wants to compete harder than anyone else.

[@davidjohnson8655]

I said your comparison is unrelated, not out of context. My point was you can never give full context. This video doesn't give good context. Are you saying the title should be banned? Or the video? Also this title actually does describe what he says accurately, people are just butthurt because he said well yes and no. If the title was "I wouldn't do it again" then THAT would be misleading because he literally said that he would, but that's not the case so this is really just fine. If you want more context, watch the video, its simply not misleading though.

[@danjames6388]

Fair to him for doing Tour de France on drugs, I can’t even find my bike when I’m on them.

[@thatannoyingperson5324]

I’m sorry *W H A T ?*

[@patriciahealey2927]

@bob loblaw u are unoriginal..u come with something.

[@keirsamson]

@@patriciahealey2927 Why should he come up with something, not everyone has to come up with something in the comments

[@patriciahealey2927]

@@keirsamson have a good weekend God bless xx

[@-First-Last]

That's a good one ! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@joshualapointe4239]

America's roided up guy beat the other roided up guys, the end.

[@MaxCDet]

Joshua LaPointe What does the fact that he is american have to do with any of it ?

[@joshualapointe4239]

Roided up Armstrong beat other roided up competitors. Better?

[@rickjamez4987]

+Joshua LaPointe Exactly.

[@BenRush]

yup.

[@TheRyan4778]

+ Mx D. Cause Americans like to think they are the best.

[@TadkaTravellers]

The name of this video is a perfect example of how media uses a statement out of context to sensationalise a news piece

[@st3ppenwolf]

The problem is that a lot of idiots think that this stuff the media does is about ideology, whereas it seems to be all about money and click rate.

[@jemand8462]

it's actually NOT out of context. It would be out of context, if he said "I'm not gonna say: I'd do it again". This however is a QUOTE. HE ACTUALLY SAID AND MEANT IT.

[@superdupertroy]

@@st3ppenwolf Satanic people do satanic things, like hurt others for profit. Our world has been captured by Satanists and we are fighting with GOD to get it back.

[@st3ppenwolf]

@@superdupertroy use the simplest explanation always.. otherwise you start deluding yourself

[@superdupertroy]

@@st3ppenwolf Yep Good v Evil is the simple explanation

[@rishabprasad7633]

It's so funny to see BBC criticize someone for lying when they themselves, for a 5mintue video, lied in their title.

[@pakopepefdez185]

1:35

[@jennifers4528]

Lance Armstrong did say that. Did you watch the video?

[@bennathan7353]

@@jennifers4528 he didn’t say he would cheat again, he said that he would dope again if it was 1995 and doping was pervasive. It’s cheating if you are the only person doing it, but it’s not cheating if everyone is doing it

[@tinmachine693]

@@bennathan7353 it's cheating if it's against the rules of the sport, if the majority are doping it doesn't make it OK, it's still cheating.

[@bennathan7353]

@@tinmachine693 well done, thanks for that, It wasn’t just the majority, it was everyone, it was the sport. Anyway, it still wasn’t what he said

[@patrickmcshane7658]

if he was nicer, perhaps they would not have hunted him down.

[@GodfatherInOhio]

He actually got away with it. He wasn't caught until he did his comeback. Floyd Landis called him and asked for a job. Lance said sorry, you're kryptonite, can't have you. Landis said "oh yeah?" and went public about all the doping. Had Fraudstrong not attempted a comeback, he'd never have been caught.

[@NailujG]

@@GodfatherInOhio Fr. Landis is the whole reason why it all blew up and then everyone started getting involved.

[@emilram]

Blew it when he decided to come back after retiring. Like coming back to the scene of the crime

[@JackIsNotInTheBox]

He needed more money, spent it all on million dollar cars.

[@abone2pick]

@@JackIsNotInTheBox he had a multi million contract with nike and trek. He could have got paid big just for showing up to a one day race. He came back just for his pride and that was his downfall @

[@lesliepropheter5040]

They saved his urine, could have happened at any time, even 20 years down the road.

[@Lelough_]

@@lesliepropheter5040 all athletes urine samples are saved but they don't go back to all of them. They went back to his because he came back

[@isitoveryet9525]

His ex teammate, who was busted for doping & stripped of his title the year after Lance’s retirement blackmailed him. After his suspension, no team would work with him so he told lance he would go public about his cheating if Lance didn’t come back & put him on his team. Lance was so mad, & arrogant, that he came back but refused to put the guy on the team. The next day, he reported Lance.

[@MarcJenningstv]

Cheating is one thing but being an intimidating bully to everyone who knew him at the same time is what makes a disgusting human being.

[@alfiebrookes8401]

Disgusting person? .....what about the £500,000,000 he raised for charity?????

[@59771006]

+Alfie Brookes That's the only good thing Lance has ever done.

[@firsttimeisawjupiter1031]

Alfie Brookes That does not make it square. He use that to benefit his own public image in a vast way. If money would make up for all the lies, the manipulation, the bullying to those close to you; you could buy your way into heaven

[@lauriejamesmackeson]

I think he made it quite clear how he felt about the drug taking and the person he was beyond the competition itself. Your point is accurate because it is his point! 🙏🏽

[@Bucboy1001]

It was all built on lies though. Sure it's great, but the ends don't always justify the means.

[@Fascistbeast]

Lance Armstrong has aged fast in these two years from losing it all

[@HendersonHinchfinch]

“Our roided up guy beat your roided up guy” - Bill Burr

[@pradyumnyadastidar2452]

Haha I remember that

[@mitchellstrong]

from 1998 -2005 8 out of the top 10 riders were in trouble for ped's. thats just the top 10 places. after the 10th place, it was just as bad.

[@WallyHays]

mitchell strong So what you're saying is that 20% of the top riders weren't in trouble for PEDs? So it was still possible to be a top rider and not dope during the late 90s? I know, it's more than likely that they were never caught but there's also a chance that they were clean and Lance's argument is completely false. Also, just curious where that factoid came from.

[@H0kieJoe]

@Wally Hays No, it wasn't possible to be a top rider without doping. It is what it is.

[@HTHAMMACK1]

"the vast majority of cyclists at armstrongs time never tested positive." LOL! Lance Armstrong passed every blood test when he was competing. It wasn't until well after his riding days that he got caught. It's meaningless. They all know how to pass a drug test. Cycling is one of, if not the dirtiest sport out there. Damn near every one of them were cheating.

[@allgoo1964]

Wally Hays says: "So what you're saying is that 20% of the top riders weren't in trouble for PEDs?.." = He's not saying 20% were clean. 20% may have gotten away.

[@ChristianParkesArt]

Interesting to know who the fastest clean cyclist was. Guess we'll never know

[@musy345]

Great interview. He gives a brutally honest reaction- not the reaction many expect or wish for- but very honest. Refreshing to see. Don't condone his actions but respect him being forthcoming.

[@NJ-wb1cz]

He's a sociopath. You're giving him credit for not giving into something that he doesn't really have at all.

[@JackIsNotInTheBox]

@@NJ-wb1cz Explain yourself

[@NJ-wb1cz]

@@JackIsNotInTheBox google what a sociopath is. His "honest" way of talking is him not having feelings of shame or regret. This is also why he is such a great liar and how he fooled everyone and ruthlessly destroyed people around him for years while being charismatic and creating a cult-like following. That's pretty much what (successful) sociopaths do.

[@Herbert2892]

@@NJ-wb1cz Yeah, most of psycho/sociopaths are in the social pinnacle of many things. They dont care for people, so they just search for happiness in these kind of things.

[@NJ-wb1cz]

@@Herbert2892 yup. Some part of humanity evolved innate repulsion towards sociopaths as a counter tactic, perhaps because those that didn't have it had a tendency to die a lot back in the messy days of human history. But not everyone has it, sadly.

He was the only one in the history of cycling being doped. Yeah right... The truth is he was the best ever.

[@amirleon996]

Exactly. They hate him, because they aint him.

[@mikelyons8288]

MORE LIES FROM A LANCE SUPPORTING FOOL. SEVERAL HONEST CYCLISTS COMPETED BUT COULDN'T WIN BECAUSE OF PATHETIC CHEATING COWARDS LIKE FRAUD LAMESTRONG.

@@mikelyons8288 bullshit. You know nothing...

[@casper6198]

Keep Crying karen.

[@flyingchimp12]

For real... just like the astros

[@mrseaturtle8915]

Lance is way more earnest and honest with himself and the audience then he used to; he's been able to step outside of himself now. Good for you, Lance. Impressive.

[@espenthoresen998]

Honest with himself what a lie

[@moonpiespotlight4759]

Stepping outside and using 3rd person is his way of deflecting the blame onto his other self. Instead of saying "I lied, I cheated" he says "that guy lied, that guy cheated" and he pretends all his vain, ill gotten glory was for cancer, but it was for Lance. That said, I don't blame him. Just got caught.

[@seansmith5468]

Too bad this isn’t a show about when he wasn’t taking advantage of everyone for his personal gain

[@notta3d]

I have completely forgotten about the drug use because he was the best cheater out of cheaters. Nobody can deny that man's drive. To come back from cancer like that to compete at that level is insane. The pictures of him when he had cancer are tough to look at. Watching him is motivating as hell because of his competitiveness and drive. Unfortunately, he will never be able to escape the bullying. It was bad, really bad. He hurt a lot of innocent people and will have to live with that the rest of his life.

[@elpllc7541]

You have summarized exactly what transpired. The cancer, the come back, and the willingness to pay the price. People forget the amount of work that went into winning 7 tours. Yes, the performance was tainted but the effort was not. You mention the bullying and that’s what liars, cheaters, and addicts do. In that realm, there is no conscience. It has escaped everyone, even decent people with good intention.

[@denbot.cycling]

Exactly they think o he cheated it was easy for him... I'd like to see anyone of these keyboard warriors get on a bike and cycle down the street, never mind up those mountains. He would have been suffering the entire ride, even with the addition help, it just means you can push into an entirely new level of suffering

[@killerkitten7534]

@@elpllc7541too bad it all means nothing now that he cheated. Might as well have strapped a motor to his bike and rode the race that way. If at any point you cheat you’re no longer a worthy athlete, you’re scum and honestly I’m glad his entire life was ruined from this. Not that he seems to even regret what he did

[@antonlvdm]

I raced in that era, got signed in 2003 by a French team. Got there, saw what was happening with the doping and decided that I don't want to make a living like that. Now nearly 15 years later, I think I would tell myself to go and do it. It is not just the racing and winning the money and salaries, it is all the other doors that become open to you that otherwise would be nearly impossible to get access to. It's a dog eat dog world out there...

[@philphil4042]

Don't take your dreams for reality

[@marksc1929]

Well stated.

[@robogreek3157]

Bullshit... your making excuses for not making it. Sometimes people try and fail ...it's OK. I hate people making excuses following scandals

[@rob12449]

I think this is a great comment. You experienced the reality of the scene, rejected it, which society would judge as heroic, yet it leaves you admitting the cost of being honest. If it was not Lance it would have been somebody else no question. That to me makes a big difference.

[@johnnwako2488]

​@@robogreek3157 ​​​@RoboGreek No, let's face reality: he's right!

[@89Pleasek]

This man has a very dark vibe.

[@quify33]

Please elaborate

[@Liqquidd]

Watch interview with graham And floyd

[@Tang526]

@@quify33 he has a shark mentality. Like a hedge fund manager. He wants to take the cake.

[@jimbarron8688]

If I was one of the other 100+ riders in those 7 tours that didn't dope I'd complain like mad... oh, what's that sound? (***crickets***)

[@lostboyzrambo801]

Yeah cuz they weren’t on the teams that had enough money to pay for ped’s. They all wish they could cuz that meant winning in 1998.

[@bellavia5]

The ends don't justify the means Lance. The foundation . The bike sales. The sport profile. Cheating does not justify any of it.

[@dscoduc]

Yeah you're right... all those people who benefited from Lance (LiveString, Trek, UCI) totally should give it all back....

[@bellavia5]

@@dscoduc Not likely. They all have a simple defense -"We did'nt know".

[@dscoduc]

@@bellavia5 Everyone knew (wink wink, nod nod)... Nobody said anything because they didn't want to upset the gravy train...

[@bellavia5]

@@dscoduc Some did. Some suspected. Most did'nt want to know. The thing is -regarding trying to get money back from the investors -it has to be proven that they knew.

[@BBCNews]

Would Lance do it all again? Watch the interview here. bbc.in/1JtZIay

[@delainecochran8009]

Really. You could have done without it.

[@marykinuthia5780]

A disgraceful man!

[@johnhaynes4913]

If you do the crime, you gotta do the time.

[@PatHiggins-Mayo]

Let him rot in his own self pity

[@jonboi7182]

I'm saying at least he kept it legit with the reporter saying he would go back and do it all over again the same as before. Uncut and raw he is telling you like it or not. Its not the lies you tell others its the ones you tell yourselves.@Jonboi025 out.

[@sullivanbiddle9979]

Once a sociopath always a sociopath.

[@BobBob-uv9fq]

Never ever have I seen a thumbnail saying “Lance helps out in the darkest times of families lives “referring to his charity work ,more than makes up for what is essentially a sport ,life is more important

[@BobBob-uv9fq]

@Oyyy Veyyyy yes Agee ,they’re greedy

[@funkyflights]

I can guarantee he wasn't the only one doping, so he's still one of the best athletes to ever hop on a bike.... He just dominated so much he got put into a bubble and attacked for it..

[@kkui8635]

I feel ya man

[@speedy3702]

Lance Armstrong didn't won because he was the best athelte among dopers, but because he had the most sofisticated doping program. Once you allow doping, then any sport becomes like racing, where the best car makes a lot of difference. Well, Lance used to have the best "car" back in the day.

[@funkyflights]

Pedro Gonçalves ... Doping is doping ... Not sure how his was the most sophisticated... It's not that complicated ...

[@speedy3702]

funkyflights It was the result of an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency that Lance Armstrong's team run "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

[@funkyflights]

Pedro Gonçalves .... I"m wondering what a sophisticated doping scheme looks like ? You inject the drug in cycles in hopes to fool the tests... I wonder what they're saying they did that was so sophisticated....

[@Biscuitchris7again]

"Our roided up guy beat your roided up guy." ~Bill Burr

[@duncanbedford4765]

No remorse ,no humility ,no regrets........a cheat is always a cheat...

[@colinmontgomery1956]

"You know, it was pretty brutal, afterwards." Yeah, kind of like how you were pretty brutal to all those people over the years.

[@Poneglyph]

I remember watching a documentary at the beginning of the 2000s about cycling competitions. What was showed is that cycling was a drug fest with competitors doping themselves even on the starting lines. Even if people say nowadays it's not so much anymore, I have a very hard time believing.

[@paulthoma4018]

All of this has taught me one thing, that it's tough watch someone who is so completely full of it act sincere.

[@CSchaef02]

I can sense Lance is a different person, though. As if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

[@stephancote4745]

Love how he tries to say hes got nothing to benefit as if it wasn't a PR stunt

[@PeaceandLove2023]

he said it himself, its not that he cheated but the way he cheated i.e. his sociopathic behaviour. That said as far as I'm concerned he was a legit winner of the TDF in that if you wanted to ride for a top team you had to take what was given to you by the team doc. It continues to this day.

[@dolphin069]

Sociopathic behaviour largely a result of some of the drugs he was using.

[@88feji]

He's won against other dopers because other dopers had no choice but to let him win (not because he was better than them at cycling) ... .. as he was the organiser of doping ring, other dopers had to let him win to carry on being part of the doping scheme to enjoy the sponsorship money ..

[@cm-kl2wx]

@@88feji Rubbish...he was better...

[@Colddeed]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="172">2:52</a>, glad to see him at least some a little contrition for the way he treated others. That's really been my biggest beef with him, at the end of the day.

[@greenguy7807]

Everybody's on steroids

[@AJ42K]

I'm an runner and never in my life took steroids or smoked a damn thing in my life... be the Hall of Famer not the Hall of Shamer. Be the example for kids or you will be hated for a long time

[@MrFishguy22]

You were also never offered 10s of millions to be at the top of the sport. Hard to say what your decision would be if you were promised the world but...you had to do this what you would do. I'm convinced that any athlete at the absolute top of their sport isn't on some type of performance enhancer and continues to take it to stay in that position. Sports are an money maker, and the athletes are just pawns for making more money.

[@dmed312]

I play professional poker, and I take steroids.

[@SW-fk3rb]

Lance didn't take steroids he took EPO or Erythropoeitin, an extra dose of a hormone produced by your kidneys to stimulate production of red blood cells. It's not a strength increase, just raises the amount of oxygen that can reach your tissues so you can bike longer.. not as fraudulent as steroids in my opinion.

[@NZyoutube]

- Nate Diaz

[@imrael496]

Lance needs to stay focused on and apologise to the people he tried to destroy like Greg LeMond.

[@buckbuck9225]

I can allways tell when he's lying... his lips are moving.

[@TheRomalov]

Fuck off mate

[@joshualee1124]

@@TheRomalov fax Jackson

[@JackIsNotInTheBox]

YOU FOKING SAVAGE

[@meerkatandpug]

This guy looks about 15 years older than his true age. That's unusual for an athlete.

[@briancollins1579]

Wait till the effects of those drugs show themselves 15 years later....

[@TheRyan4778]

+Brian Collins. No kidding.

[@PatchedThePipe]

Dude has aged double time

[@garethhancock8525]

Really? He don't look 92 at all, is that what you think a 92 yr old looks like?

[@howardlam6181]

@@garethhancock8525 only 2 years since the doping scandal so he aged 4 years in those 2 years

[@garethhancock8525]

@@howardlam6181 oh yeh, sorry my bad 🤣

[@tooleyheadbang4239]

Essentially then, he's not ashamed of cheating, just of getting caught.

[@samwalters8734]

Heavily rehearsed and emotionally manipulative, just like everything he said when he was lying about taking PEDs and destroying good people in the media and the sport who called him out on it. What he did to those people was unforgivable.

[@faceoff3315]

*I'm here after 30 for 30 Story on ESPN*

[@WallyHays]

I looooove Lance's frequent use of the third person. It's a true sign of humility.

[@Whiplashed]

Just like a serial killer

[@BIGT-tg4gu]

Of a narcissist

[@pressrolls]

...true sign of a sociopath psycho megalomaniac

[@stephaneherringtoniowritin9180]

Wally Hays And also someone who is reluctant to admit to the truth. He was a bully,and a cheat...Shame on YOU(no third person) Lance. And to think I once admired this man...

[@sliderx1897]

the only person allowed to refer to themselves in 3rd person is The Rock!

[@gabrieljohannson6777]

A sociopath on open public display.

[@rterry2752]

The needles kept falling out of my pocket and popping my tire, was a pain in the ass.

[@MrMfiling]

man all of sports was different back then, NFL, basketball, baseball, soccer, MMA, boxing.... all the elite athletes were on steroids, everybody knows that

[@sutt5828]

Everyones on gear. Steroids dont create legends they create themselves. Guy was an absolute beast. Hat's off

[@mikelyons8288]

MORE LIES FROM A LANCE SUPPORTING FOOL. SEVERAL HONEST CYCLISTS COMPETED BUT COULDN'T WIN BECAUSE OF PATHETIC CHEATING COWARDS LIKE FRAUD LAMESTRONG.

[@mimad4923]

Please research before you speak. Anabolic steroids can completely change your biological capabilities. Your recovery, muscle function, muscle memory, skeletal strength, reaction time, etc. The benefit for a competitive athlete is undeniable. For example, studies have shown that a male athlete on just HALF the average dose has a faster recovery time of up to 85%!!

[@sutt5828]

@@mimad4923 I’m fully aware of what steroids and such can achieve, but everyone was doing it so it’s a level playing field if you look at it that way. And steroid won’t help the weak and useless.

[@KristiLEvans1]

He flipping DESTROYED people who tried to speak up. He had the largest platform of any cyclist, ever, and he used it to hurt people.

[@davetherave1729]

Saying that he would cheat again just reinforces the person he was, is, a chronic cheat. Not only did he cheat he billed others to cheat with him.

[@weebig]

Rofl he made +++++100 million dollars OF COURSE HED DO IT AGAIN. SO WOULD ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kkui8635]

Ikr

[@colewygans1278]

well, i wouldn't use steroids though.

[@greekstephen]

cole wygans you wouldn't win tours in a row.

[@stephenfletcher5391]

I wouldn't and I have proved that in my personal life. Money isn't everything. Would you let someone kill you for 1 billion dollars? No? Why not because life is everything? Would you go through 500 years of life knowing everything was a lie? Would you feel cheated if your life was just 5 years but was real, with love and had purpose? Would you kill someone you loved for 100 million dollars? Think about it, and even if your answers are the same and all you care about is money, at least you should understand that not everyone would make that decision. Think of Edward Snowden, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King JR, Galileo, Giordano Bruno, Jesus, Paul, Fritz Gerlich etc. There are many people who has proven and shown that they cared about something bigger than money, which money can not buy. I am a no name who has done it, so I have no doubt there are many more like me and them out there too even if they are the majority. Not everyone thinks like you.

[@summerbreeze2340]

Stephen Fletcher Exactly! I wouldn't put any drug in my body just to get rich! Also all that effort from Armstrong with or without drugs means absolutely nothing! All that sweating climbing up mountains was wasted! I'd rather be clean and finish with the lantern rouge and know I had completed one of the toughest races ever under my own ability and determination! I honestly wouldn't want the adulation for doing something which was achieved by outside means! Going to bed every night living a big lie! The achievement means nothing and Armstrong will go to his grave as one of the biggest cheats in sporting history! Not a great epitaph!

[@jonny90743]

banning Lance Armstrong from running marathons is like punishing Arnold Schwarzenegger for using steroids

[@bobbythebobtail]

Did Arnold Schwarzenegger lie under oath whilst giving sworn testimony? Did Arnold sue people and ruin their lives when they told the truth. No he didn't. It's NOT like Arnold taking steroids for bodybuilding, Armstrong was a vindictive cheat, liar and a bully and an embarrassment to America. Just ask his mother.

[@PaDutchRunner]

The way they went after him is just ridiculous.

[@richardhedd3080]

Everyone involved were getting so rich that no one wanted to stop the money train. So everyone from the top down turned a blind eye to what was going on.

[@antonia4722]

When I tried riding on drugs I couldn't even find my bike! Seriously though..he didnt say he would still cheat. He said if you were to take him back to 95 given the same circumstances he would do the same. He was playing a level playing field back then. PHD have been pervasive in all sports for many years. Cycling was one of the worst. Still is. They were all on one thing or another....

[@goldenmiddledistanceraces5929]

if there was no EPO test and he had to cheat to win he would. Same thing. He would not cheat now because few are doping - testing has improved and detection is likely. In principle he would cheat if he had to and thought he could get away with it. Amounts to the same thing.

[@441milachik]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="175">2:55</a> he talks about himself in second person that is one symptóm of psychopath.

[@lewis809]

I was immediately looking at him and thinking something isn’t right there. He doesn’t feel guilty at all, you can tell it’s almost like there’s this secret sense of pride underneath it all. Like, ‘yeah I doped and got away with it and you guys made me a millionaire’

[@abhayn9615]

Oh yeah totally valid points from KZbin's very own armchair psychologists

[@lewis809]

@@abhayn9615 Oh no I'm sure his 10+ years of harassment and hard ass doping is perfectly normal behaviour lol. You don't have to be a psychologist to see he's only annoyed he got exposed, its not rocket science

[@abhayn9615]

@@lewis809 I'm sure he isn't normal but your conclusions must be garbage

[@craig1538]

Just heard the shocking news that Lance Armstrong has passed away. For all he's done he doesn't deserve to be taken from us so soon. RIP.

[@garciatwins3630]

he’s not dead!!

[@gerry6420]

He wasn’t the only one cheating. The whole sport was rotten to the core. Lance has served his time.... if he can, then let him earn money to help sick people who need it.

[@mikaelsmith5094]

Armstrong was just the top of the iceberg. Even an italian cyclist, Danilo Di Luca, winner of an edition of the Italian Tour, admitted that, without dope, was not possible to win anything in that period.

[@lukerenauld800]

I feel like the best athletes in the world always have some sort of killer mentality just like lance

[@a55tech]

his attitude shows that the punishment was too light and inconsequential

[@adamburling9551]

Oh shut up. How do you know how what he's dealt with?

[@a55tech]

@@adamburling9551 hey fvcktard, this is an interview clip. ur comment is worthless and adds no value, do u see that now?

[@adamburling9551]

@@a55tech Oh shut up. You sound pathetic. Ridiculous.

[@adamburling9551]

@@a55tech Neither does your comment t add any value smart guy.

[@a55tech]

@@adamburling9551 that just means u lack reading comprehension

[@marymohagheghi4875]

He would do it again ?.. unbelievable arrogance

[@i2aymond]

You can't win without gear. Go home if you disagree.

[@KBKriechbaum]

I am at home.

[@MrSimjam1980]

Geza Fekete Yes. It's called club racing.

[@gezzarandom]

Only a matter of time before Team Sky are exposed.......

[@WELLBRAN]

i2aymond that's why pro cycling is still dirty...to this day

[@fangkunhan4455]

MrSimjam1980 goodone

[@frankmiranda707]

At least this time he was honest

[@dannyh8288]

"The teammates" didn't make the decision. YOU forced the decision on them.

[@johnhancock2914]

U can tell he walks with a amount of huge shame and disappointment and embarrassment, poor guy

[@scooby196I]

as Jacques Anquetil said, 'I dope because everyone dopes'.

[@WarlordRising]

Saw the stats of the top 10 cyclists in the TDF over the past few decades, and I can only imagine that even the agencies doing the testing were involved. How did it get to the point where you had to dope to win? Is it still going on?

[@tayolenson2268]

Yes it is still going on in every physical sport.

[@SA-pe4gl]

He became honest when he was trapped, had no other choice, when he was caught. He would never disclose this information this own. He is a liar and cheater, unfortunately. Sad, because he was such an inspiration of strength of human spirit. 😢

[@pbezunartea]

Not everyone took drugs then, not everyone is taking them now. He, not only bullied Tyler Hamilton for not taking them, but he tried to ruin his life. I'll tell you where we would've been not taking drugs: where he was when he was not taking them, Tour de France 1995, 36th position.

[@johnpfister7876]

He is surely not the only one - right, Froome?

[@champtech8755]

The only difference is froome is trying to be a nice guy. I guess he learned from Lances mistakes and doing absolutely opposite. But I’m not so sure he’s a nice guy in a real life.

[@jacobfield4848]

Lance Armstrong entered a sport where to win you needed to cheat. The Spanish cyclists had government backing, as did their tennis players, athletes and footballers. Lance did what he needed to do. However, Lance remains a cheat, a bully and a liar. He is not a good role model.

[@websterbodybuilder]

The horrible person portrayed here was vicious coming after those that reported his doping

[@MiamiWatchMods]

Nate Diaz sounds more and more like a genius with time.

[@boogeyman1016]

Well he's a hypocrite bcuz that means him, his brother and their teammates are all on roids

[@garethhancock8525]

@@boogeyman1016 never tested positive

[@jcvilla8309]

That’s our world. People will still back this man and be a fan of him after knowing he cheated and lied. That’s the world we live in and we have to accept it, some people don’t care if someone does wrong, just as long as that wrong isn’t down to them they will still support it. And it’s so sad.

[@yasminvillanueva3141]

He still had to get on that bike and ride his ass off to win those titles. Just like Barry Bonds had to still use his great ability with eye / hand coordination to hit the damn home runs. Give these athletes some credit. They still work their asses off. PED's didnt do that much to make them successful, it was their talent.

[@howboutdis3908]

Everyone cheated back then. At least he is honest about it and let's not forget that he almost died of cancer at 25, then came back to the top level and managed to raise a lot of money for cancer charity. We need to look at the whole picture.

[@theterrobear2716]

​@@yasminvillanueva3141if it didn t do thst much of a difference he wouldn't have taken them. He won 7 in a row, if the epo didn t do that much of a difference, he would have won natty say at least 1, which would have still been amazing.

[@derekgill5953]

In the great words of Nate Diaz.."Everyone's on steroids."

[@jono601]

if everybody cheats, then who cares? It's a dirty sport and they have no one to blame but themselves. Quit pushing all the responsibility onto the athletes. All the clean ones did not qualify.

[@rickjamez4987]

Lance is a very intelligent man. He didn't do anything that anyone else wasn't doing then, he just did it better. Even some kids in high school football hit the juice to get an edge. Get over it. He put his life on the line to be the best and did a lot for cancer research. All the people who are offended by this probably weigh 300 lbs and never worked out or competed a day in their life.

[@amazingdany]

+RiddleMeThat You probably were that high school footballer who hit the juice to get an edge to defend that cheating piece of shit.

[@jcnba28]

You don't seem to understand the amount of people's lives he ruined because of his doping. The pathological liar. He's a sick man and needs help.

[@richardwagner7491]

+1, well said

[@niksur7113]

what if you were Lance's opponent in tour de France. How would you feel when you lose?

[@rickjamez4987]

sweetpea06112 No.

[@alejandroguardado5748]

People spend time in jail for much lesser offenses. “It was brutal…” what a joke!

[@penkee76]

I think the tour the France is long and hard enough without doping and they were all in it not just Lance. In fact he raised money and helped and showed his finger to the underworld whom wanted to push him down to the ground after he stood up from cancer and made America proud of him but he got betrayed by his home country.

[@TheRyan4778]

Lol, Lance is a joke.

[@deanwitt7903]

Armstrong seems a selfish but straight shooting guy . I can see why he was at the top of his game for so long . Cycling at that time was riddled with drugs and he is no worse than the other individuals he competed against .he did what he had to do to win and to my mind he is a legend of the sport for that Era and forever .

[@keltiquewood]

And then repeatedly lied about it in public!

[@trezeguet4ever]

@@keltiquewood fuck would you have done in his situation?

[@keltiquewood]

@@trezeguet4ever Dude - when the game is up you put your hands up and hope the guns are loaded with blanks!

[@conorsmith8551]

If you can’t beat em , join em ay? Noble

[@theterrobear2716]

​@@trezeguet4everi woudln t be in his situation. It s a thing called fair-play? morality? Principles?

[@david27616]

If he had just stayed retired! Was some great racing though!

[@lovesanimalshatesrats6339]

Caleb Dressel the swimmer that cleaned up at this olympics just said he didn’t swim one race where everyone was clean this year.

[@XDontConformX]

He knows that cycling records today aren't significantly better than back in 95, athletes are still doping and always will be.

[@XerxezsX]

All the UFC fighters are on steroids and all the UFC legends have been caught cheating, and guess what, they fight the next fight and no one beats an eye, Aka Canelo😂

[@gfsdgfabfsdafjsavbdfs1253]

Boy, does he look old and tired.

[@destro1989]

Dude had cancer that will make you look old bud.

[@steelekiller8540]

Having cancer will do that to you. He nearly died and he survived. But he still had to deal with the after effects

[@krishnan-resurrection714]

..yes ...a real Tough Guy! ....compare this guy to Mark Cavendish who is as soft as melted Butter! ...-or "sir Bradley wiggins" ...lol ..- what a pathetic joke the sport has turned into !!!

[@jimbarron8688]

Yeah, let's go challenge him to a bike race... that weak old pussy! We'll show him eh?!?

[@jeremycockerton4633]

Krishnan -Resurrection Lol Bradley Wiggins would spin circles around a clean lance.. and why do you have to be a tough guy? You make cyclists look bad b you’re the problem

[@muhammadusmanhussain9426]

I don't think its a good idea asking a criminal whether they should be punished or not and if yes then what their punishment must be.

[@ericsonnen5248]

Good interview, BBC.

[@rocky4976]

A very short 1943 book by C.S. Lewis called the Abolition of Man speaks to Lance's regret. We all "sin" and the sense of regret shows that we acknowledge a sense of the "Tao". His story is remarkable in so many ways. I identify with his sense of regret when remembering past mistakes...there is hope but from a quarter we''ve been conditioned to ignore.

[@troywright359]

CS Lewis talks about Tao? I doubt he equated it as having truth

[@goldenmiddledistanceraces5929]

what regret? he said he would dope again. He is also complaining about the lifetime ban

[@lollandz]

He would be a hero if he told how he cheated

[@MatthewBarrett]

steroids m8

[@joshuamalamion531]

Matthew Barrett He also did blood transfusions

[@prthikkarthikeyan3013]

Matthew Barrett nah, EPO

[@hb-kw4mr]

When he got caught, he could have come out and say, this is my story! I almost died of cancer, survived and cheated my way to succes. 7 times! Hahaha. Still a succes story though, he lived a live he almost lost. I have respect for the achievement, but how he treated people was very rude and manipulative. So good achievement, horrible person.

[@Ferreal92]

The U.S. Postal Service spent 32 million on sponsorship for Lance's teams. They made back 106 million. This from a study commissioned by the Postal Service and reported in the Denver Post. Only the facts, Ma'am.

[@elalaskowska2167]

I love how they had to interview him around a bunch of bicycles🤣

[@CounterCultureCantCount]

"When the whole pelloton made that decision.." Oh yeah Lance, sure... What about Gilles Delion ? What about Christophe Bassons (who you bullied into retirement) ? What about Laurent Lefèvre ? What about Patrice Halgand ? What about these guys who always refused doping despite the pressure and the s***load of money that was offered to them ?

[@zoesinclair2359]

Yes! He destroyed the reputations of many people, and created a living hell for the people around him. He wrongfully sued people that told the truth and financially crippled them. I think the people on here would sing a different tune after reading David Walsh's book on the shit that Armstrong and his management goons pulled. He's a cold blooded sociopath who has never truly taken responsibility of what he did.

[@briangriffin5359]

@@zoesinclair2359 Yup. He's still trying to put into "context".

[@jsilva7005]

@@zoesinclair2359 i dont know much about cycling but t4ll me if my conclusion about Lance and cycling is correct. While we know that everyone wasnt cheating. The lqrge majotity, was doping and 100% of the elite cyclists wete on something. So even though Lance doped he shoulld still be considered great. Because thr best cyclists wete also on stuff and they couldnt beat him

[@johnfranklin1955]

ALL the top riders were doping then, ALL OF THEM. The best cyclist in the world between 1999 to 2005 was Lance Armstrong.

[@Definitemaybe0698]

John Franklin Greg LeMond NEVER doped in his life and on the official record he is the only American to have won the Tour de France.

[@ralphbourgeois5875]

Who cares even if you were right (you arent but whatever). That just means 1999-2005 was a worthless dogshit era which didnt even produce a single top 30 cyclist of all time, Lance Pharmstrong included. The era is so shitty they didnt even bother renaming a replacement Tour de France winner as that whole era was a bunch of talentless dopers and non legends, so it is like that period didnt even exist. So lets just pretend you were right, Lance was the best of a nothing era that barely existed, it still makes him nothing.

[@Definitemaybe0698]

Ralph Bourgeois pretend I’m right? I have done a lot of reading on Lance Armstrong and his career most of cyclists where doping at that time but no one did it on the scale that he did. Greg LeMond is still on record the ONLY AMERICAN to win the tour. How much reading do you do before you post. I’m not taking anything away from cycling I’m just saying that at the time it was easy to dope and get away with it if you have the people conducting the test in your payroll.

[@ralphbourgeois5875]

@@Definitemaybe0698 I wasnt responding to you but to John Franklin. I 100% agree with you, yes many others doped (not sure if all like some are saying, that is largely conjecture, it wouldnt surprise me, but people stating it as absolute fact are just doing so as more baseless Lance Pharmstrong defending and excusing), but nobody had the access to the quality and standard of drugs Lance Pharmstrong did. And the only ones who even came close were his only teammates who had team orders to work only for him to win and not even try to beat him, so they dont even count. And yes Greg LeMond won clean, and is miles superior to Lance.

[@Definitemaybe0698]

Ralph Bourgeois my bad I thought the other guy was calling me stupid. I mean is lance talented yes he was but he wanted to be the best so bad he was willing to cheat to do so and I find that to be humiliating he even admitted he would do it again if it was 95.

[@bikerfreak714]

He wouldn't do it again in 2015 because no one else is doping. He still doesn't get it.

[@miljadragic7144]

How many of us cheated in school having a math exam or something else? 😉

[@gerardvdelshout]

Still my hero, everyone was on dope. Ullrich, Beloki, Valverde, Mancebo, Boogerd, Kloden, Heras, Riis, Landis, Basso, Hamilton and the list goes on. Why is Merkcx such a hero even though he doped? Its absolutely ridiculous.

[@rsoxboy]

@@rolandgreen7484 From Wikipedia: 1969 Eddy Merckx of Belgium tested positive for the stimulant Reactivan at Savona during the 1969 Giro d'Italia, after leading the race through 16 stages. Merckx was found positive at doping control and expelled from the Giro. Merckx steadfastly denied the charges. The controversy began to swirl when his test results were not handled in the ordinary manner. The positive doping control was released to the press before all parties (Merckx and team officials) involved were notified and happened just after Merckx refused to accept money for not competing in general classification. 1973 Eddy Merckx tested positive for a banned substance in the Giro di Lombardia classic. He was disqualified from first place. Runner-up Felice Gimondi was declared the winner.[60]

[@JizMafia]

gerardvdelshout Still Your Hero What? Liking a person that cheated the game? Tf is wrong with you? You probably wasn’t raised right bud

[@gerardvdelshout]

Dj Akademiks Sandusky think what you think, I will think what I think, it is called opinion and how I am raised you let people have them and discuss with arguments. My argument is that all of the names stated above (save for 1) admitted to blood transfusions, faking cortison medical prescriptions, EPO, growth hormones and Testosterone use. This story has more then one side and the US doping boss did make a personal vendetta out of this for his own gain.

[@gerardvdelshout]

Dustin Gabe just because he is a god in Belgium and nobody asks this question to him does not mean it is not true, he literally tested positive 3 times in his career.

[@germanshepard7842]

i will never watch tour to France agion because of Lance Armstrong.

[@groovydoo]

They have a "saying" in politics and foreign policy that "the dirtiest fighter makes the rules." I get why Armstrong states he would do it all over again if it were circa 1995.

[@philhellmuff]

It seems to me that he does not regret what he did because it raised a lot of money and helped people. What he does regret is the way he did it and how he treated people he probably cared about

[@goldenmiddledistanceraces5929]

he did not say that he regrets because the charities would not have benefitted. He cited industry growth and charitable donations as benefits of the work he did in cycling - which of course was based on cheating. He does not say what his primary motivation was but self enrichment and fame are likely. So he would have cheated again but he would like to be a nicer guy doing the cheating.

[@MarioLorentz23Art]

Lance's drug cheating was horrible, but the worst part about him was how he treated other people and how he was a pathological liar. He's a rotten, nasty, and despicable human being.

[@tomr6955]

absolutely, and to him, the ends justify the means.

[@losratitos8277]

I don't give a sh*t about the doping...it was the BEST Cycling entertainment that I've ever had the privilege to watch....Cycling now is boring and still full of cheaters and a-holes (Team Sky)...I miss the Lance era....

[@krishnan-resurrection714]

...Spot on mate! ....it is now a Laughing stock full of Buttercups and fairy-cakes ....

[@roloenweston1]

Since when is watching a cheater win a privilege. That's pathetic.

[@Stego1819]

Lol cycling has become so much more interesting the last years. This TdF was the best one I ever watched.

[@DonLee1980]

Lance's story was too good to be true. Cancer survivor come back to win 7 titles. He will always be remembered as the cheater. But he didn't put in any less hardwork, and he did help a lot of people. Stripped of his titles, those people who gained from his charities don't have to give it back. What I agree is that he was a monster against all those trying to reveal him. It's a shame really. In sports like, tennis or basketball, skill and mental decisions > physical strength which makes doping much less of a factor. Cycling is pure endurance and little skill, it's just too tempting to not cheat. All of them cheat now, just on the edge of what is legally cheating, and illegal cheating.

[@carolus13579]

At the end of the day, Armstrong is by far more honest than those cyclists playing the victim as they were taking doping.