Lance Armstrong Grants Interview to Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey will interview Lance Armstrong next week on Oprah’s Next Chapter, Deadline reports, marking the cyclist’s first interview since the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned him for life and stripped him of all the titles he had won since 1999 – including his record-breaking seven consecutive Tour de France championships – for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Set to premiere on January 17th, the 90-minute special was filmed at Armstrong’s home in Austin and comes amid reports that Armstrong is seeking a forum to come clean. Since USADA passed their judgement, Armstrong has lost most of his corporate sponsors (including Nike) and has resigned as the chairman of his charity, Livestrong.
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USADA claimed to have eyewitnesses who saw Armstrong using blood transfusions, testosterone and other banned substances to help him win during the Tour, though the cyclist denied all charges, citing a lack of physical evidence. “I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours,” he wrote in a condemnation of the USADA.
Armstrong has since dropped his fight against the anti-doping agency’s charges because of the toll it took on his family and work with the Lance Armstrong Foundation.