My comments inside the quote in [brackets].
Has he ever gotten this close to actually admitting doping before?
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/armstrong-worried-at-doping-in-cycling-20110113-19p31.html
High levels of doping in cycling are due to riders pushing human limits further than other sports, Lance Armstrong says. [Now, if the doping is pushing human limits further AND he beat them... the math is clear]
The seven-time Tour de France winner says he's not worried at being mentioned in doping investigations [downplaying], but is concerned at the high number of positive drug tests in cycling.
"I can't say no, you would have to say yes," Armstrong told reporters on Thursday.
"But to me that is really a byproduct of the sport trying harder than any other sport.
"I know if you laid those controls over any other world sport, especially one as demanding as cycling, you would have as many, if not more, positives." [justifies doping]
Armstrong held a media conference in Rowland Flat in South Australia's Barossa Valley wine region, ahead of him racing the Tour Down Under starting Sunday.
The tour will Armstrong's final race outside of the United States, but the 40-year-old said his farewell season would not be nostalgic.
"I have never been one to sit around and reminisce much," he said.
"It would be a mistake for me to think back on the stuff that I did on the bike when I have things in front of me that are much bigger than that." [okay, this is the most blatant part - what on Earth could he be referring to here other than his own doping?]
Armstrong hoped his legacy would be one of a cycling revolutionary.
"I won the Tour de France seven times and I think I won it because we changed the way people in cycling do business," he said. [I suggest the "I think" qualifier speaks volumes... this is anticipation of the accusation that he won because of the doping... he's saying no, "I think" it's because "we changed the way people in cycling do business,"]
"And I'm not going to dance around the fact there has been plenty of questions about that. [Blatant reference to him doping - no denial/anger of the past]
"But the reality is we came with a whole new approach to the sport. [again, downplaying the doping aspect relative to the "whole new approach" in terms of why he won]
"We revolutionised the way people train, the way they build morale in the team, the way they preview the courses, the way they race, the way they sell the sport, the way they tell that story around the world.
"I leave knowing that I did my best and I don't need somebody to give me a plaque or give me a statue, it has been very good to me on a lot of levels, it has been a good ride." [Not sure what to make of this... preparing to give up his trophies???]
Has he ever gotten this close to actually admitting doping before?
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/armstrong-worried-at-doping-in-cycling-20110113-19p31.html