Lance Armstrong apologizes to cycling community ahead of Oprah interview

Lance Armstrong apologizes to cycling community ahead of Oprah interview - The Missourian: National News

(Washington Post)

Armstrong Apologizes for Doping

Posted: Monday, January 14, 2013 8:41 am | Updated: 4:51 pm, Tue Jan 15, 2013.

Lance Armstrong apologizes to cycling community ahead of Oprah interview Associated Press |

On the eve of Monday's taped interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong made a series of phone calls to apologize directly to key people in the cycling community with whom he had not been truthful about his part in sports doping.

It was part of Armstrong's effort to prepare himself and others for what's anticipated to be a partial confession and to make amends with those to whom he lied and misled.

Earlier Sunday while out jogging near his Austin home, Armstrong told the Associated Press regarding the upcoming interview: "I'm calm, I'm at ease, and I'm ready to speak candidly."

Armstrong's conversation with Winfrey will mark the first public comments he has made about the widespread allegations in a 1,000-page document released last fall by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

That document, based in part on the testimony of 11 of Armstrong's former teammates, led to his being stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles and being barred from competition in October by cycling's international governing body.

It concluded that Armstrong's cycling heroics were the result of "the most sophisticated, professional and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

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Posted in National on Monday, January 14, 2013 8:41 am. Updated: 4:51 pm.