Lance Armstrong; from grace to grass

The story of Lance Armstrong could be described as moving from grace to grass. He shook the world in the bicycle sport, winning all the laurels until his confessions about doping in an interview brought him to naught.

Lance Armstrong

The world woke up to hear Lance Armstrong’s drug confession during his interview with chat-show host, Oprah Winfrey in front of a worldwide television audience.

Lance Armstrong, 41, admitted for the first time that his decade-long dominance of cycling and seven wins in the Tour de France were owed, in part, to performance-enhancing drugs and oxygen-boosting blood transfusions. He told Winfrey that he was taking the opportunity to confess to everything he had done wrong, including angrily denying reports for years claiming that he had doped.

These revelations have caused shock and disenchantment; and reactions have been pouring in from people most familiar with the famed cyclist's history. Wife of Armstrong's former teammate and close friend Frankie Andreu, Betsy said on ABC's Good Morning America that she could not believe that Lance apologized.

“Lance doesn't say, 'I'm sorry.' Lance isn't used to telling the truth and so I think in the days to come, in the months to come, I'm hoping that we'll see the contrition. Actions speak louder than words so if the words aren't empty ...," Andreu said.

ABC News consultant and USA Today columnist, Christine Brennan called Armstrong's admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs "a major miscalculation.” “It was a lose-lose going in. I think he did more harm than good to his reputation, and he just looked cold-blooded, and cutthroat, and ruthless," Brennan said.

Investigators said Armstrong lied about when he stopped doping, saying the last time he used the drugs and transfusions was the 2005 race. Armstrong said during the interview, “That's the only thing in this whole report that upset me. The accusation and alleged proof that they said I doped in 2009 is not true. The last time I crossed the line that line was 2005.”

Armstrong has lost millions of dollars when sponsors split with him after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a condemning report. He will lose at least $50m over the next five years as six more sponsors cut ties with the cyclist.

Among the companies to ditch Armstrong are his bike sponsor Trek Bicycles and helmet sponsor Giro; Technology retailer Radioshack, honey maker Honey Stringer and health club franchise 24HR Fitness.

U.S. sportswear giant, Nike has terminated Armstrong's contract claiming he misled them for more than a decade.       Nike was accused of paying $500,000 to cover up a positive drugs test for Armstrong more than a decade ago.        Anheuser-Busch followed Nike hours later and announced it won't be renewing its relationship.

With his career and reputation in tatters the athlete no longer offers sponsors the image or publicity they desire from a sportstar. Meanwhile, donations to his foundation have risen despite the scandal. As at this report, Lance endorsement value had remained strong in spite of report into his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career. 

However, Lance Armstrong's current remaining list of sponsors includes: Nissan; Sunglasses maker Oakley; Fitness equipment manufacturer Johnson Health Tech; Bicycle component maker, SRAM; One sponsor unlikely to drop him is energy food company Honey Stinger, which he part owns.

The Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI president, Pat McQuaid, seized on Armstrong's insistence that his $125,000 (£78,000) donations to the UCI in 2002 and 2007 were not linked to any failed test at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland.

Having publicly admitted doping after previously denying it under oath, Armstrong now faces the possibility of a string of legal challenges. Armstrong is facing at least three civil suits.

The Texan insurance company SCA is pursuing the return of $12m it had to pay out in bonuses following Armstrong's 2006 Tour win and the US Department of Justice will this week decide whether to join a whistle-blowing suit filed by former team-mate Floyd Landis seeking the return of $30m invested in his team by the US Postal Service.

Armstrong during a cycling competition

 Minutes after Armstrong's confession aired on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network, the Livestrong Foundation, the Austin-Texas-based cancer charity released a statement expressing disappointment in their former leader. Armstrong founded the cancer-fighting organization but recently stepped down as a board member.

“We at the Livestrong Foundation are disappointed by the news that Lance Armstrong misled people during and after his cycling career, including us. Our success has never been based on one person, it's based on the patients and survivors we serve every day, who approach a cancer diagnosis with hope, courage and perseverance.”

John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency said, “He was wrong, he cheated and there was no excuse for what he did. If he was looking for redemption, he didn't succeed in getting that.”

Sports personalities have also been speaking. Roger Federer has expressed his sadness at American cyclist Lance Armstrong's admission that he cheated his way to seven Tour de France wins and believes it will have a negative impact on all sport.

17-times grand-slam winner Federer described the situation thus: 'What a sad story.'  I don't know what to say. It just really saddens me to see that someone did this for such a long time. 

Serena Williams, who has won 15 grand slam titles, admitted that it is a sad day for all athletes in general. But I think overall it's even more disappointing for the people that were adversely affected through everything. You can only just hope for the best for them.

In 2012, the American was stripped of his Tour de France titles won from 1999 to 2005 after being labelled a "serial cheat" by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, USADA. Armstrong admitted that he took EPO, testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone to help him to seven Tour de France victories – admitting his career was "one big lie" and that he had been a "jerk", a "liar" and an "arrogant prick".

Meanwhile, Armstrong told Winfrey that he would not have been caught had he not made a comeback in 2009. He said he did not consider his doping to be cheating because he was trying to create a “level playing field.”

Lance in a gym

WADA chairman, John Fahey, was dismissive of Armstrong's "disingenuous" confession and said that the only way he could possibly see his lifetime ban reduced would be to provide a full testimony under oath that made a significant contribution to the fight against doping.

The International Olympic Committee, which stripped Armstrong of the bronze medal he won in 2000, also urged him to testify under oath: “We now urge Armstrong to present all the evidence he has to the appropriate anti-doping authorities so that we can bring an end to this dark episode and move forward, stronger and cleaner.”

Lance Edward Armstrong, born in September 18, 1971 started racing at the age of 12, in his sporting career as a swimmer at the City of Plano Swim Club and finished fourth in Texas state 1,500-meter freestyle. He stopped swimming-only races after seeing a poster for a junior triathlon, called the Iron Kids Triathlon, which he won at age 13.

In the 1987–1988, USA Triathlon formerly called Tri-Fed/Texas, Armstrong was ranked the number-one triathlete in the 19-and-under group. Armstrong's total points in 1987 as an amateur were better than those of five professionals ranked higher than he was that year. At 16, Lance Armstrong became a professional triathlete and became national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990 at 18 and 19, respectively.

The American former professional road racing cyclist whose record seven consecutive Tour de France wins, between 1999 and 2005 were rescinded because of his use and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs.

He was banned from professional cycling for life after confessing to doping in a television interview in January 2013, two-and-a-half months after the  sport's governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI, announced its decision to accept the United States Anti-Doping Agency's findings regarding him.

Armstrong began competing at 16, as a triathlete and became a national sprint-course triathlon champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1992, Armstrong began his career as a professional cyclist with the Motorola team. He had notable success between 1993 and 1996, including the 1993 World Championship, Clásica de San Sebastián in 1995, an overall victory in the penultimate Tour DuPont and a handful of stage victories in Europe, including the stage to Limoges in the Tour de France.

In October 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy. In February 1997, he was declared cancer-free and the same year he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer support.

The interview with Oprah

In January 1998, Armstrong signed a new racing contract with US Postal. He was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005. On July 24, 2005, Armstrong retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009 and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. Between 2010 and 2011, he raced with the UCI ProTeam, Team Radio Shack he helped found.

On February 16, 2011, he announced his retirement from competitive cycling, while facing a US federal investigation into doping allegations. In February 2012, he returned to triathlon, competing as a professional in several events. In June 2012, the USADA charged Armstrong with having used illicit performance-enhancing drugs, and in August it announced a lifetime ban from competition, which applies in all sports which follow the World Anti Doping Agency code, as well as the stripping of all titles won since August 1998.

The USADA report stated that Armstrong enforced "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” On October 22, 2012, the UCI, the sport's governing body, announced its decision to accept USADA's findings regarding Armstrong.

In 1992 Armstrong turned professional with the Motorola Cycling Team. In 1993, Armstrong won 10 one-day events and stage races, but his breakthrough victory was the UCI Road World Championship held in Norway.

Armstrong's successes were much in 1996. He became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne and again won the Tour DuPont. However, he was able to compete for only five days in the Tour de France. In the 1996 Olympic Games, he finished 6th in the time trial and 12th in the road race. In August 1996 following the Leeds Classic, Armstrong signed a 2-year, $2m deal with the French Cofidis Cycling Team. Joining him in signing contracts with the French team were teammates Frankie Andreu and Laurent Madouas. Two months later, in October 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

On October 2, 1996, then aged 25, Armstrong was diagnosed as having stage three (advanced) testicular cancer (embryonal carcinoma). The cancer spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. Immediate surgery and chemotherapy saved his life. Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove his diseased testicle. After his surgery, his doctor said that he had less than a 40% survival chance.

However, Oprah believes that Armstrong, can be a hero again. Lance Armstrong is likely to avoid criminal prosecution for perjury following his belated confession to using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a lawyer who questioned the disgraced cyclist under oath. As at press time, some of his sponsors have dragged him to court.

Armstrong with wife

Meanwhile, he has pleaded against 'death penalty' and also wants to be allowed to make a rapid comeback from his ban for drugs cheating and competes again. “I deserve to be punished. I don't deserve the death penalty." Armstrong, 41, wants to compete in a triathlete or mountain biker within the years.

However, there are skepticism whether Armstrong's sincerity can be trusted after he lied to the public for so long. A psychology professor at the University of Richmond, Scott Allison argued that Armstrong was not crying and not playing the role of someone who was feeling pain when he made the confession statements.

Armstrong on his own said he would spend the rest of his life trying to apologize to people and regain their trust. “There will be people who hear this and never forgive me,” he said. “I understand that.”