Lance Armstrong taped what has been described as a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he reportedly admits to using performance-enhancing drugs to gain an edge in cycling in the mid-1990s.
The two-and-a-half hour interview, will air Thursday and Friday nights on OWN, Winfrey's cable network. She told "CBS This Morning" it features Armstrong's first admission that he doped and used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.
"We were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers. I feel that he answered the questions in a way that he was ready. ... He certainly had prepared himself for this moment. ... He brought it. He really did," she told CBS.
"Armstrong will address the alleged doping scandal, years of accusations of cheating, and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his storied cycling career," according to a press release from Winfrey that called the event a "no-holds-barred interview."
Armstrong has always vehemently denied using performance-enhancing drugs and has never been proven to have tested positive.
Armstrong and his representatives also have had discussions with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about meeting soon over several days for a "full debrief," when Armstrong would be expected to "answer every question, give over records, telephone calls, test results, everything," the source said.
He also met Monday with the staff of the Livestrong Foundation, the charity he founded to help cancer patients, and apologized for the damaging impact of the doping scandal on their morale.
Armstrong, a survivor of testicular cancer, stepped down as a Livestrong board member in November. The foundation, originally called the Lance Armstrong Foundation but known informally for years as Livestrong, formally dropped Armstrong's name from its title in October.
Less than two weeks later, Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories were nullified and he was banned from cycling for life after the International Cycling Union ratified the USADA's sanctions against him.
