Through the first part of Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey, it appears the cyclist has Oprah exactly where he wants her.
What should we expect in part two of the interview? It depends on whether Lance was ever forced away from his agenda back on Monday when he had his chat with Oprah. It also could be a conscious choice by the interview's director, producers, editors or Oprah herself to air the interview in non-chronological order.
If Lance is truly challenged by Oprah's additional questions, he will be more likely to slip away from his comfort zone and either give more details about his admitted drug usage or enter territory he didn't even sniff in part one of the talk.
If Oprah continues to let him off the hook and stays away from hard, no-escape-without-a-response questions, I don't anticipate Lance saying much more than he already has, which is essentially nothing. He has admitted to drug use to boost his efforts on the Tour de France and other cycling events, saying his use started in the mid-1990's. However, outside of a few meaningless details, we already knew all of that from the testimony of those who have dealt with him in the past, and the investigation of multiple large organizations gunning for his head.
It certainly doesn't seem as if there's an easy way for Lance to rehab his career or his reputation. If he keeps his lips zipped, it's not likely he'd risk losing very much more money in the money he earned based on performance. At this point though, what is there to lose in the other two aspects?
Armstrong is already seen as a pariah who doesn't seem to care about anything other than his own intentions. I doubt Oprah works any harder to reveal something new in Lance's responses, but if she does, it may chip a bit of Lance's armor of arrogance away. Lance appears to be willing to be a villain forever, based on his continual denial and rhetoric.
Elsewhere in Armstrong coverage, the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee stresses the importance of Lance, "telling the whole truth," to reach an actionable prevention method for the next time an athlete tries such a move. Thomas Bach , the IOC's VP also wants Lance to come completely clean to give the situation some closure and prove Armstrong's claim that he wants what is best for cycling, the AP said.
Live Streaming Available Here:
Part two of the interview airs tonight live on the Oprah Winfrey Network and online right here.
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