“Will Do Anything I Need to Do to Survive”: Lance Armstrong Once Defined a Career-Changing Incident That Brought His Win-at-All-Costs Attitude

From the seven-time Tour de France winner to the most disgraced athlete ever, Lance Armstrong has a long story. His infamous doping case is what made him the most disgraced athlete ever. Even after using PEDs to win titles during his career, he continued to defend himself.

Lance Armstrong revealed to Oprah Winfrey in 2013 that he used PEDs to boost his performance during his career and also defended himself from the charges brought against him.

Despite all that, he had a huge change of attitude just after his dominance in the sport. He also described how he became a “bully” among the players. It was also just after his battle with testicular cancer.

“I was always a fighter,” Lance termed his nature in the sport. This was always his motto, as he just wanted to win at everything. “Before my diagnosis, I was a competitor, but not a fierce competitor. Then I said I will do anything I need to do to survive. Then I brought that ruthless, win-at-all-costs attitude into cycling.” 

Lance always had a competitive nature. But whatever he had wasn’t enough, and he thrived for more. At the end, that made him a more serious person in competitions. As he became hungry for the titles, he went down the wrong path. But still, Lance did not regret anything he did. 

ALSO READ – “It Was an Eye Opening Experience”: Lance Armstrong Recalls His First Ever Trip Down the PED Lane

He had an attitude change after his battle with cancer that also made him this way. He also influenced his teammates to get PEDs. It wasn’t just a normal approach, but it was also a little intimidating for his teammates.

The journalist that exposed Lance Armstrong

The disgraced cyclist was chased down by the journalist David Walsh. David reported on Lance’s doping career for over 12 years. The journalist had even faced legal action against him as he wanted to take down Lance for using PEDs and winning the titles.

During the 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, when Lance was asked, “But will you apologize to David Walsh?”, he answered yes, but the journalist was clear that it was a straight lie.

David Walsh first started following Lance in 1993. As per the journalist, Lance had considerable talent, and he was also impressed. But six years later, it changed when Lance came back to cycling after his battle with testicular cancer in 1999.

David was completely aware of the situation of high demand for PEDs during the 1998 Tour de France, which was also termed the Tour de Farce. David even said that wherever the French police looked, they found drugs.

He was well aware of Lance’s flaws, having followed him for a long time. This made his win just after a two-year hiatus more suspicious to the journalist. The situation went on for a long time, which even made David hopeless. In 2012, the disgraced cyclist was caught, and his titles were taken away.

WATCH THIS STORY – How Did An Early Uber Investment Save Lance Armstrong And His Family From Financial Crisis?

What do you think of Lance Armstrong’s scandal revelations even after a decade? Let us know in the comment section.