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Lance Armstrong is an American former road racing cyclist. The legendary racer had once beaten cancer to come back and win seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999 to 2005. However, later Armstrong stripped off all his titles after a doping investigation revealed that the cyclist had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.

Armstrong is close friends with Hollywood superstar Matthew McConaughey. Hence, the actor had a mixed reaction to the news, when asked about his thoughts on the case.

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Matthew McConaughey’s first reaction to Armstrong’s cheating case

Armstrong‘s doping scandal was investigated and revealed in 2012, and soon the cyclist was deprived of all his titles and achievements. This investigation and results were one of the biggest doping cases in sporting history.

Matthew McConaughey, one of Armstrong’s good friends, was also unaware of the cyclist’s drug habits. In 2013, HLN news asked the Hollywood star about his opinions and reaction after finding out about Armstrong’s truth. As any true friend, McConaughey’s first reaction was full of anger.

He said, “My first reaction was, I was p****d off, I was mad, I then got kind of sad for him and I can what and I took. First I had a part of me that took it personally, which I think a lot of people have.” However, no matter how frustrated McConaughey was after hearing the news, he also had a hilarious and sensible view of it.

The actor said, “What I meant by this is what was he supposed to do? Call me to the side and go, ‘Hey I did it but don’t tell anybody,’ then I would really have a reason to be p****d off at everyone. You want me to walk around holding this?

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The investigation led the cyclist to retire from the sport, prior than he would have liked to.

Lance Armstrong and his career before the doping investigation

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Armstrong began his sporting career as a triathlon athlete. At 16, Armstrong became a professional triathlete. In 1989 and 1990, he also won the national sprint-course triathlon championship.

via Getty

Later, in 1996, Armstrong became the first American to win the La Flèche Wallonne. In the same year, the cyclist was diagnosed with stage three testicle cancer. However, this didn’t let Armstrong down.

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He made a strong comeback to the sport in 1999, winning his first Tour de France. However, Armstrong’s achievements went in vain due to the doping case.