Lance Armstrong Admits to Steroid Use in Oprah Interview

Cyclist Lance Armstrong confessed to using steroids while winning his seven Tour de France titles in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, USA Today reported. Armstrong reportedly admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during the time period after delivering an emotional apology to the Livestrong charity he founded.

Ending over a decade of denial and rampant media speculation, Winfrey said that while Armstrong owned up to using steroids, he did "not come clean in the manner" she expected, Reuters reported. Viewers will have to decide for themselves if the shamed former champion was truly remorseful in the interview, she added.

"I think the most important questions and answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered," Winfrey said of the interview.

"We were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers," said Winfrey, describing Armstrong as thoughtful and serious and emotional at times during the interview.

The interview is scheduled to run Thursday on Oprah's OWN network.

"Just wrapped with @lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!" Oprah tweeted after taping the interview Monday in Austin, TX.

Winfrey claimed she hadn't planned to bring up Armstrong's confession prior to taking part in the interview, but "by the time I left Austin and landed in Chicago, you all had already confirmed it," she told "CBS This Morning."

Armstrong's confession is a shocking reversal for the athlete who's insisted in public statements, interviews and court proceedings for years that he never used steroids. 

According to Fox News, the International Cycling Union has said its aware of reports of Armstrong's comments.

"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 (USPS) team," the federation said in a statement.

Armstrong was unceremoniously stripped of his Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a damning 1,000-page report accusing him of masterminding a long-running doping scheme.

A perennial critic of Armstrong's, USADA chief executive Travis Tygart, said the drug regimen Armstrong practiced while leading the U.S. Postal Service team was, "The most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Betsy Andreu, the wife of former Armstrong teammate Frankie Andreu, said the news of Armstrong's confession was "very emotional and very sad," choking up as she commented.

"He used to be one of my husband's best friends and because he wouldn't go along with the doping, he got kicked to the side. Lance could have a positive impact if he tells the truth on everything. He's got to be completely honest," she said.