Disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong has said that he was 'wrong' to use the story of his fight against cancer to boost his image while fending off the doping accusations that eventually led to his downfall.
Armstrong said that the story of his battle against cancer built him up into a hero and he gladly sheltered behind it as he aggressively denied repeated doping allegations.
According to Stuff.co.nz, Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer and was stripped of his seven Tour titles and banned from cycling for life, admitted that he is embarrassed by his statement and wished that he could erase the moment from his life when he said it.
Armstrong further said that he feels bad to think that such a statement might have given false confidence to the cancer community as they took things like that to heart.
Stating that this is the reason why so much of the fallout has been so drastic, Armstrong also said that he accepts responsibility for being so aggressive and stern when it came to the denials, adding that he had eventually backed himself into a corner with his constant denials of doping.