Disgraced former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says he "wouldn't change a thing" about the doping which led to him being stripped of his seven yellow jerseys.
The American, who was banned from cycling for life in 2012 after one of the biggest doping scandals in sporting history, had won seven Tour de France titles in a row, after overcoming testicular cancer.
However, after years of question marks over his performance, Armstrong was eventually exposed in 2012, which led to his admission of cheating in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013.
And speaking in a new interview for NBC, which is set to be broadcast next week, he has said he wouldn't go back on the decisions he made if given the chance to turn back the clock.
Armstrong says the lessons he learned when falling from the pinnacle of the sport, have had a huge impact on his life.
"I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t change the way I acted. I mean I would, but this is a longer answer.
"Primarily, I wouldn’t change the lessons that I’ve learned. I don’t learn all the lessons if I don’t act that way. I don’t get investigated and sanctioned if I don’t act the way I acted.
"If I just doped and didn’t say a thing, none of that would have happened. None of it. I was begging for, I was asking for them to come after me. It was an easy target," he said.
The 47-year-old Texan, whose doping cost him tens of millions in endorsements and lawsuits, says "we did what we had to do to win.
"It wasn't legal, but I wouldn't change a thing: whether it's losing a bunch of money, going from hero to zero."
Lance Armstrong: Next Stage — will be broadcast in the United States on Wednesday, May 29.
