Surrounded by about 10 close friends and advisers, Lance Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing during his widely anticipated sit-down with Oprah Winfrey Monday afternoon.
In what was described by the Associated Press as an interview that was "emotional at times," Armstrong told Winfrey he used PEDs to win the Tour de France, but the extent of his admission was unclear.
The group left a downtown Austin hotel about three hours after they arrived Monday afternoon, the AP said, quoting someone familiar with the taping of the interview.
Armstrong had apologized to the staff at his Livestrong cancer foundation earlier in the day but failed to directly acknowledge that he had used performance-enhancing drugs en route to seven Tour de France titles in that meeting.
The AP reported that Armstrong told the staff of his cancer-fighting charity, "I'm sorry," choking up as several employees cried during the session. He apparently apologized for letting the staff down and putting the foundation at risk but he did not make a direct confession to the group about using banned drugs. He said he would try to restore Livestrong's reputation.
Armstrong urged the group to continue fighting for the charity's mission of helping cancer patients and their families according to the report. After the meeting, Armstrong, his legal team and advisers gathered at a downtown Austin hotel for the interview even as the media gathered in front of his Austin, Texas home, hoping for a glance at the fallen superstar or Winfrey. Armstrong also managed to get in a morning run before the interview.
After denying doping, and threatening anyone who suggested he might have for a decade-and-a-half, Armstrong was believed to be prepared to make at least a limited admission to having used performance-enhancing drugs during his long career.
Winfrey's interview is scheduled to air Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
''I'm calm, I'm at ease and ready to speak candidly,'' he told the AP on Sunday, but declined to reveal how he would answer questions about the scandal.
Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year following the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that portrayed him as being the mastermind behind ''the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.''
On Monday, Armstrong looked as relaxed and confident as ever, seemingly oblivious to the media horde gathered in front of his Spanish-style house, joking about all the reporters fighting for his attention. That may change, of course, depending on what he says in the interview. Armstrong already faces litigation on at least two fronts -- a potential lawsuit from an insurer he sued in 2006 and who settled with him and an already-filed lawsuit from The Times of London, who sued Armstrong in December to recover money from the settlement the paper paid to Armstrong in a libel suit. The British newspaper took out an add in Sunday's Chicago Tribune with suggestions for questions Winfrey should ask the cyclist.
The Livestrong Foundation responded Monday to a New York Times article suggesting the foundation's business dealings directly benefitted Armstrong, calling the Times claims "false insinuations published today in The New York Times."
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