Cycling: Two years have passed since Lance Armstrong publicly apologized to Oprah Winfrey. Two years in which he lost a large number of his sponsors. He no longer wears the yellow Livestrong bracelet that he used to advertise the cancer foundation he set up. Despite having his seven Tour de France victories revoked, he still sees himself as the rightful winner of those conditions. Across from CNN the Texan broke his silence and gave an exclusive insight into his life after the doping admission.
"I'm actually surprised that I'm never called stupid", Armstrong freely admits in his interview with CNN's Matt Majendie. "Of course I sometimes notice that someone wants to talk to me about the incidents, but it hasn't happened yet."
Had no evidence of his doping abuse been found, Armstrong continued, he would probably still insist on his innocence: "I was pretty good at playing that role. When you've denied it hundreds of times, you can't just admit it. Once you've said 'no', you must always say 'no'.”
# A picture from the old days.
At the same time, however, he reflects on his situation: "If that hadn't happened with the FBI investigation, I would probably still say 'no' with the same conviction and tone I used to have. But that's over."
I don't blame anyone else but myself. I'm a big boy, I make my own decisions and I have to be accountable for them.
Nevertheless, he is aware of his guilt: "I don't blame anyone else but myself. I'm a big boy, I make my own decisions and I have to be accountable for them." Against this background, he also denies that the interview is merely a PR campaign. Rather, Armstrong wants to go even further in the coming months and write a new, honest book. However, he first has to find a suitable co-author, considering his statements in the two books published in the past: “The book has to be deep and transparent. It has to have an impact and then simply unfold its effect. [...] and it must absolutely not contain any nonsense.”
# Lance Armstrong is back in public.
But before Armstrong can devote himself to this project, he must first deal with his former sponsors. With regard to the upcoming legal dispute with one of his former sponsors, US Postal Service, he found clear words: "I'm pretty confident that we're going to win the case. I don't think anyone can really prove that the US Postal Service was harmed. They made a lot of money off the deal and got what they negotiated. I worked my ass off for them and I'm proud of it. Beyond that, there was no relationship between me and the US Postal Service.”
While it was that attitude and confidence that made Armstrong a successful athlete, he admits it also got him into his current position.
My attitude has helped me on the bike but also maneuvered me into the position I am in today.
"I'm definitely a guy who gives a shit about other things. I fight in training, I fight to win races, I fight to motivate the others on the team. Being bold helps, but it's rather detrimental to personal relationships. I just didn't have a switch to turn it off. My attitude has helped me on the bike but also maneuvered me into the position I am in today.”
The detailed interview can be found at www.cnn.com. Matt Majendie himself gives an insight into the interview in the following video.
[iframe src="http://edition.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/sports/2014/08/19/intv-armstrong-majendie-attitude-now.cnn" width="620 ″ height=”349″]
Leave a Comment