Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong told the Telegraph that feels like he has been cast as the cycling world’s pariah and he is also a person “everybody wants to pretend never lived.”
“Who’s that character in Harry Potter they can’t talk about? Voldemort? It’s like that on every level. If you watch the Tour on American TV, if you read about it, it’s as if you can’t mention him,” said Armstrong, who fears he may be financially ruined should he lose the U.S. government’s $100 million whistleblower lawsuit against him.
The 43-year-old cyclist is also facing criticism from Union Cycliste Internationale president Brian Cookson for taking part in One Day Ahead, a charity cycle for Cure Leukaemia on Tour de France’s route in a month’s time.
Armstrong, who was stripped of his Tour de France medals when a report accussed him of taking performance enhancing drugs, is currently seeing a counsellor to help him handle personal interactions.
“God knows I could. I mean, I was a complete dick for a long time,” said Armstrong. “I led a life that for 20-30 years everybody just stood around and said ‘yeah’ ‘yeah’ ‘yeah’ and then there was another ‘yeah’ and then a whole bunch more ‘yeahs’.”
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