He just can’t keep out of the headlines, can he? This time he’s had an interview with Emma O’Reilly (the whistleblower who first called him out), and claimed that certain individuals at the very top of the UCI hierarchy played a hand in helping him get away scott-free for so long.

Armstrong obviously wants his life-ban reduced, and the only way that might happen is if he can be as open and honest as possible. And that’s just what he’s been doing (we think) in a bid to open constructive discussions at the proposed truth and reconciliation committee hearing with the UCI.

Armstrong named former UCI-chief, Hein Verbruggen, as the central figure in his doping fiasco. He claims that the former head of world cycling not only knew about his drug abuse, but he actively encouraged him to cover up his doping. He goes on to say that Verbruggen was complicit in the espionage that allowed him to continue in the 1999 Tour de France despite a positive drugs test.

Of course, Armstrong’s comments contradict Verbruggen’s testimony that he has never been involved in doping cover-ups. But Armstrong insists that his story is the truth, and says that he owes no loyalty to the UCI, so has no reason to cover up the truth any longer.

To think I am protecting any of these guys after the way they treated me, that is ludicrous. I’m not protecting them at all. I have no loyalty towards them. ‘I’m not going to lie to protect these guys. I hate them. They threw me under the bus. I’m done with them.

No, no, Lance. You threw yourself under the bus, they just helped you.

[Source : Daily Mail]