(ATR) Lance Armstrong "did not come clean in the manner I had expected," Oprah Winfrey reveals after their hours-long interview Monday.
"I can only say I was satisfied by the answers," she said Tuesday in an appearance on CBS This Morning, assuring viewers they will not be disappointed when they tune into her OWN network Thursday night for the first of two installments of her "no-holds-barred" conversation with Armstrong.
The interview is his first since the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published last October more than 1,000 pages of evidence detailing allegations of use, possession and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs by the former Tour de France winner.
According to Oprah, the special will now air over two nights given the length and quality of the content. She said she asked most of the 112 questions she had prepared for the confessional, which taped Monday in an Austin, Texas hotel room and stretched more than 2.5 hours.
"All of the people who are wondering if he actually goes there," she told CBS, "I think that you will come away too understanding that he brought it, he really did."
What exactly he brought, however, remains to be seen.
USA Today reports that Armstrong admits to Oprah he started using PEDs in the mid-1990s, a period that predates his 1996 cancer diagnosis – and his time trial bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the fate of which the IOC must still determine.
After his seven Tour de France titles were stripped by the International Cycling Union in October, that medal and a gold from the 1993 UCI Road World Championships remain his top prizes from almost 20 years as a professional.
The New York Times also indicates that Armstrong plans to testify against UCI – but not against other riders – about widespread doping in the sport throughout the past two decades.
UCI has so far stayed tight-lipped about Monday’s interview, insisting no further comments are coming until after Thursday’s broadcast.
"The UCI notes the media speculation surrounding the interview and reports that he has finally come clean and admitted doping during his cycling career," reads a Tuesday statement from the federation.
"If these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the Independent Commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team."
Efforts made by Around the Rings to reach Pat McQuaid, president of UCI since 2005, and his predecessor Hein Verbruggen for comment are so far unsuccessful.
Written by Matthew Grayson
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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