21 May 2020

Lance Armstrong’s former team-mate Floyd Landis hopes disgraced champion can 'find some peace in his life’

One of Lance Armstrong’s former team-mates, Floyd Landis, has said he hopes the American ’finds some peace in his life’ following his disgraced exit from cycling.

Armstrong, who won seven Tour de France titles in a row from 1999 to 2005 before being stripped of them all, was recently quoted as referring to Landis as a ’piece of s***’ in his new ESPN documentary LANCE.

Landis won the 2006 Tour de France before being stripped due to a failed drugs test (PA Images) (PA Images)

But Landis - who was stripped of his own Tour crown in 2006 for doping offences, subsequently leading to him becoming the whistleblower on Armstrong’s wrongdoings - insists he has no ill will for the Texan these days.

Speaking to ESPN radio host Sarah Spain, he said: "I have some empathy for him because I went through some real public humiliation and it hurts.

"You want to blame somebody and sometimes it's easier to find the most obvious thing or person and blame them. He can blame me - maybe it would still be a secret if it wasn't for me.

“I couldn't manage it anymore. I had to come clean. He's obviously not happy about that. I hope he finds some peace in his life. I don't have any further animosity towards him."

Armstrong eventually confessed his doping antics in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013, just months after he had been stripped of his Tour titles and banned from cycling.

Many have criticised the 48-year-old cancer survivor for the way he treated people while trying to cover up his lies, but Landis believes it is not as cut and dry as Armstrong being a bad man.

"We all have some flaws and obviously his got aired out more than anybody would want, but he was he was not like everyone else," he added.

"I'd never expect the world to be able to put themselves in my shoes or Lance's shoes, but there's a lot more to it than just one bad guy that got a bunch of other people to dope and was kind of mean.

"It's complicated. Lance was also a kid one time and had dreams of racing his bike and didn't realise probably what he was walking into."

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox