Armstrong about to confess?

[julian horne]

Lance Armstrong is the reason i became a cyclist, it was the year his handlebars hooked up on someones handbag straps on a mountain stage, he picked himself up dusted himself down, caught up and blew the others away, to me it was awe inspiring.

Over time watching press releases and various other media i came to realise he was a bit of an arse, but still you had to admire his charity work, it now appears there was also some very shady financial dealings involved with this.

Last night was a huge dissapointment to be honest we all knew we wouldn't get straight answers or honesty, the only reason he's doing this now is because he's painted himself into a corner with no way out, this is a Lance Armstrong damage limitation exercise and nothing else, you can still see the bristling arrogance lying just under the surface

[martyn gall]

totally agree julian theres no doubt some good has come from the man hey it got you on a bike but the bad totally outweighs the good by quite a margin IMO

[freester]

I came to cycling after LA so he was no inspiration to me but I do understand what a disappointment this is to many other cyclists he inspired.

I kind of wanted to feel a bit sorry for him. Yes I do agree that maybe the punishment is a bit harsh compared to say, Millar, Vinokorov, Alberto Clembutador et al. Why shouldn't he run a marathon when he is 50 IF he is clean?

BUT... In no way has he really apologised or justified the way he went after so many people who stood up and TOLD THE TRUTH about him. Lying, bullying, b**t**d.

I don't think we learnt anything we didn't really know. He just confirmed it.

We want the whole truth now. Not him skipping around not naming names.

Couldn't remember if he sued Emma O'Reilly or not? WTF?

[puddings]

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The only time I saw true feeling of regret was when he talked about his Ex Kirsten and his kids sticking up for him.
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He was close to tears then - and that was the only time.
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He shure would make a good politician.

I think you need to remember who the target audience for this interview - the American non-cycling public. They don't care about the politics of cycling and the cheating that has gone on in what they consider to be a European sport. By doing this interview, by admitting his human failings and weaknesses, by crying over hurting his family he will have started his redemption in the eyes of the American public. I would expect to see him standing for governorship of Texas in the next 10 years or so (don't forget that it is not unusual for American politicians to make public apologies for their previous misdemeanour's although admittedly LA has a bigger hill to climb)

[martyn gall]

His case is a bit different from the others mentioned.

Millar is repentant and has done a bit to improve the image of the sport

Vino while I was disappointed he won the Olympics he took his punishment and did not try and sue everyone to the hilt to protest his innocence and deny it to anyone who would listen. I don't like cheats at all but in the same breath we all make mistakes and deserve a second chance IMO anyone who has never made a mistake or asked for a second chance has never done anything.

Contador well he might have went the same way had he not been caught hes just been lucky he never got too far down that road IMO and lets just hope he's clean now.