Lance Armstrong: If I could go back, I would probably dope again
The BBC interviewer asked banned cyclist Lance Armstrong: "When it comes to the doping, would you do it again?"
His answer?
"If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again because I don't think you have to do it again.
"If you take me back to 1995, when (doping) was completely and totally pervasive, I would probably do it again.
And people don't like to hear that."
Admitting it was a bad decision, 43-year-old Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned for life from racing in 2012 by the US Anti-Doping Agency - after it accused him in a report of engineering one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in sports.
But when asked about his titles, he said: "I feel like I won those tours."
When asked about reports of him bullying other teammates, the cancer survivor and fallen hero said:
"I would want to change the man that did those things, maybe not the decision, but the way he acted.
"The way he treated people, the way he couldn't stop fighting. It was unacceptable, inexcusable."
The doping fallout, he admitted, was "pretty brutal".
The interview comes as the Texan considers re-engaging with the cancer charity that he stepped away from at the height of the scandal.
He is still lobbying to have his ban decreased so he can compete in sports like triathlon.
Asked if people were ready for his return to public life, he said: “Selfishly, I would say ‘yeah, we’re getting close to that time'."
Sources: BBC, AFP
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