Lance Armstrong spent more than a decade vehemently denying accusations of doping, his reported confession on Monday coming only after the testimony of others had forever tainted his cycling legacy.
Below are some of Armstrong’s doping denials since 2001:
2001
“This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, and study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What am I on? I’m on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?”
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July 2005
“I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles. But this is one hell of a race. This is a great sporting event and you should stand around and believe it. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I’ll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it. Vive Le Tour.”
-After Armstrong’s seventh and final Tour de France victory
August 2005
“I have never doped, I can say it again, but I have said it for seven years -- it doesn’t help.”
-On CNN’s Larry King Live after French newspaper L’Equipe reports tests on urine samples taken from Armstrong during the 1999 Tour and frozen were positive for blood-boosting erythropoietin (EPO)
2005
“... the faith of all the cancer survivors and almost everything I do off of the bike would go away too. Don’t think for a second I don’t understand that.”
-In testimony under oath during legal proceedings involving SCA Promotions over a bonus payment for a Tour de France victory