Lance Armstrong confesses to doping and admits his career was 'one big lie'

Lance Armstrong has admitted his career was "one big lie" after confessing to using banned substances and blood transfusions to fuel his seven Tour de France victories.

- "The accusation and the alleged proof that they say that I doped after my comeback [in 2009] is not true. The last time I crossed that line [doping] was 2005." - "Yeah, I was a bully. I was a bully in the sense that I tried to control the narrative and if I didn't like what somebody said, I tried to control that. I was just trying to perpetuate the story and hide the truth." - "It's hard to talk about these things and not mention names, but there are other people in this story. There are people who are not monsters and toxic and evil, and I viewed Michele Ferrari as a good man and a smart man, and I still do." - "I deserve this. I don't look around and say 'Oprah, I am getting so screwed here'. Were there days early on when I said that? Absolutely, but those days are fewer and fewer and further and further in between." - "The issue of performance-enhancing drugs was 'we're going to pump up our tyres and we're going to put water in our bottles, and oh yeah, that too is going to happen'." - "I went and looked up the definition of cheat, and the definition is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe, but I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field." - "I am not a UCI fan. I have every incentive to sit here and tell you 'Yes, that's right, they are all crooked'. There were a lot of things that were shady - that [the 2002 donation] was not one of them. They didn't have a lot of money, I was retired, I had money, they said 'Would you consider a donation?' and I said 'Sure'. This is impossible for me to answer this question and have anybody believe it - it was not in exchange for any cover-up." - "Emma O'Reilly is one of these people that I have to apologise to. She is one of these people that got run over, got bullied. To be honest, Oprah, we sued so many people I don't know, but I am sure we did [sue Emma O'Reilly]." - "[Suing people] was a major flaw. It was a guy who expected to get whatever he wanted and to control every outcome. It's inexcusable. There are people who will never forgive - I understand that." - "I didn't invent the [doping] culture, but I didn't try to stop the culture. That's my mistake." - "It's not my place to say 'Hey guys, let's clean up cycling', [but] if there was a truth and reconciliation commission, and I'm invited, I'll be the first man in the door." - "I regret coming back. We wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't come back." - "I didn't fail a test. Stuff was retroactively tested, and I failed those, but the hundreds of tests that I took, I passed them because there was nothing in my system."