Fallen US cycling star Lance Armstrong is finding it difficult to accept his life ban. This became clear again when he met his former supervisor, Emma O'Reilly, for a chat. This already had him in the book in 2004 L.A. Confidential accused of doping and covering up positive samples. Armstrong spoke personally for the first time at the meeting.
First, he apologized to O'Reilly for the way he had treated her and others who had accused him of doping over the past few years. Eventually, as the conversation grew more detailed, Armstrong incriminated former UCI President Hein Verbruggen, as well as controversial doctor Michele Ferrari. When he made a media-friendly confession to US talker Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, he was still silent. "I will not protect her", Armstrong now played much harder notes, “I no longer have to be loyal to these people. In the right environment, I will tell everyone what they want to know.”
According to Armstrong, he had 1999, while already wearing the yellow jersey, submitted a suspicious sample. Traces of cortisone were reportedly found in it. "I can't remember exactly whether I was above the permitted values", the Texan continues, "but Hey [Verbruggen] said the rehearsal was a personal issue for him in the first year after the Festina scandal. So we had to think about something and then backdated the recipe without further ado.”
He then explained that before the 2000 Tour de France, Ferrari warned the US-Postal team to continue using EPO as before. According to Armstrong's statements, references to an EPO test procedure are said to have startled the Italian doctor, with whom Armstrong is still in contact.
At the end of the conversation with O'Reilly, the Texan confirmed that he would like to become an Ironman world champion one day. He would dare to do this, even without doping, if his life ban were to be shortened. Whether this will happen remains open and probably depends on what Armstrong reports to the commission of inquiry, which is supposed to take a closer look at the Armstrong-Verbruggen case.