The Armstrong Lie Page #3

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was now running Team Astana.

He reunited with Lance

to help guide his comeback.

We good?

Sure.

So is there a motivator

for you this time around?

Is this in some way for you

to say to all the critics...

It's been an interesting

reaction with the comeback.

I mean, some people are curious,

some people are pissed,

and some people are ecstatic.

Few people in sport divide

public opinion quite like Lance Armstrong.

To millions, he is

a source of inspiration.

But to some, his incredible tale is

just that, incredible, hard to believe.

Yet so many wanted to believe.

Wherever Lance went,

he moved the needle.

More fans, more money

for sponsors and promoters.

Even so, the organization

that ran the Tour de France

was reluctant to

invite him back.

Just 10 months before the race,

the comeback was in jeopardy.

The story is,

"Refused entry into

"the Tour de

France for no reason."

This guy is comin' back.

He's never been caught,

prosecuted, busted for anything.

He's coming back with the most legitimate,

credible program that there is.

They won't let him

in the marquee event.

I think the media

would f***in' crush 'em.

If they don't let him ride...

He's gonna take so

much attention away

from the Tour de

France to other events

that they have to let him in.

I think they may

come out of the gate and say,

"Of course he can't race

in the Tour de France."

Neither could Ivan Basso,

neither could Floyd Landis.

They all cheated.

That's not the same.

They were all busted.

And they think Lance is busted.

No, he's not.

But they think...

He's not.

They think it might be that way.

L'Equipe said he cheated.

He's never tested positive.

They think he has.

He didn't.

But L'Equipe said he did.

What was the headline?

Yes.

"The Armstrong Lie."

Long before Oprah,

"The Armstrong Lie" article

offered proof that Lance's first

Tour win had not been clean.

Through clever detective work,

the author

discovered that many of

Armstrong's urine

samples from 1999

contained

a doping drug called EPO.

If you consider my situation,

a guy who comes back from,

arguably, a death sentence,

why would I then

enter into a sport

and dope myself up

and risk my life again?

That's crazy.

I would never do that.

No. No way.

It was a bold claim,

considering how many

riders around him

had been busted.

And even after

Lance's seven Tour wins,

pro cycling continued to

suffer from doping scandals.

There are a lot of us

who wanted this to be

a clean sport and a clean effort

and a clean

victory and everything.

But there's just too much

swirl around it constantly.

Shortly after

Armstrong retired, there was

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