Lance Armstrong Interview | Outside Online

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The Tourminator Tells All

How's the massage going?
Right this second? It's good. Dave's a big power guy. He's a Texan.

I've never interviewed anyone as they're getting a massage.
Sorry. It's a way to save time.

I'm interested to hear what you think of the rap cycling has gotten from EPO and other drugs. It must suck to work in a sport that has a cloud hanging over it. How do you deal with skeptics who assume there's no way you can do it without drugs?
I try to take a longer view and think about 10, 20, 30 years from now, when those victories don't have an asterisk beside them. I read everything that happens with cycling and I'm as amazed as anybody else, because I think that, clearly, drugs work. But they don't work as good as hard work. And I know that for a fact.

And, of course, they kill you—sometimes.
Well, it depends. There's this whole preconceived notion about EPO and young riders dying. I would be very interested to compare every other sport—cycling, running, basketball, hockey, football, baseball—and total up how many young athletes have passed out, or passed away, on the field. If it happens on the basketball court, nobody says anything. If it happens on the soccer pitch, nothing. But if it's cycling, they say, "Drugs." I wouldn't say it's not true, because I don't know. But I certainly don't think it's fair in comparison to other sports.

Do you still think about cancer?
Of course. I'm not scared on a daily basis of getting sick again. I feel healthy and strong; I feel confident that I'm cured of the disease. But this illness is a real bastard. If I said I didn't have any respect for it, I have this idea that it would be listening to me say that. There are millions and millions of people whose lives are constantly affected by cancer either personally, or through friends, families, neighbors, or co-workers. So, that I think about. Cancer's not something you kill with one pill, or one therapy, or one procedure. It's hundreds of illnesses that you have to go and chip away at. I'm realistic, and I respect it because of what I've been through.

You're going around the country and meeting people who are fighting cancer, and the feedback you get from them—I'm wondering if that inspires you.
It does, totally. When I'm out the door and things aren't going that well or I'm having a tough time, they help to get me through that. It's inspiring for me to know that somebody might be sitting in a hospital somewhere watching the Tour de France on TV. To even think that they would be sitting there feeling stronger or better or more optimistic about their situation because of a guy winning a bike race—that's a thrill for me.

As you enter the homestretch of your training, what are you leaving out, in terms of diet, that you miss the most?
In Normandy, they have this amazing butter, just unbelievable. And, of course, the bread in Europe is kick-ass. So I think about cutting open a friggin' great piece of bread and absolutely smearing it with butter. God, that's good! You know, the food is so much better in Europe. It's so much tastier—and you'd think so much more fatty, and yet the people aren't nearly as heavy as they are over here in the States.

We need to go on a national diet, don't we? We need to appoint, like, a Cabinet-level position—a Secretary of Obesity.
It's so hard to understand. In France, the diet is oil-based, cheese-based, and alcohol-based. But the obesity rate is much lower. The problem here is fast food, basically. That's where it comes from. I only eat McDonald's every New Year's Day. It's like my black-eyed pea.

How has your relationship evolved with the French press and the fans over there?
It used to be that our relationship was iffy at best. Every year, it's gotten consistently better.

Last year, with all the anti-French sentiment in the States, did you notice increased tension in the crowds?
I expected the conflict between Bush and Chirac to trickle down to the Tour. I mean, not only am I an American, but I'm from Texas and I've spent enough time with the president for people to refer to us as "friends." But you know what? The fans were great last year, better than ever.

Certainly it was a low ebb in Franco-American relations, wasn't it?
People wanted to change the name of French fries to freedom fries, that sort of thing. I told people in the States, "You know, if the French fans on the roadside had that mentality, I never would have made it." They would have killed me.

They would have sabotaged your race?
It's an open road—anything they want to do, they can do. It happened with Eddy Merckx one year [1975]. Some angry fan punched him in the gut, injured him, and he lost the Tour. Simply leading, or looking like you're going to win, can be enough to piss them off. Let's hope it doesn't happen this year.

Apart from some crazy fan, what's your biggest nightmare?
Crashes are by far the biggest concern. Crosswinds can cause them. Sharp turns in unfamiliar villages can cause them. But you can usually avoid crashes by riding in the right position, riding with your team, and totally staying out of trouble. You don't want to be in the very, very front, because that's where the crashes start. If you're a little bit back, you can react. There's just kind of a sweet spot that we try to be in.

How's the massage going now?
Dave, you're doing good, buddy. I get a massage almost every day during the season. It helps recovery when you're training hard. Good massage, good rest, good diet—it all counts. God, I probably get 200 massages a year.

That's one of the perks, I guess.
Yeah, but sometimes I don't want ‘em. Sometimes I'd rather be doing something else. For instance, it's not a secret that I'm a fan of beer. [Laughs.] But alcohol is pretty much a no-no. Beers are few and far between this time of year. I've pretty much cut them all out.

Why is cycling such a huge deal in Europe and so marginal here? Your involvement in it has changed that, and the coverage has probably increased exponentially because of you, but still, the nuances of the sport, the strategies and tactics and personalities of the sport, are lost on most Americans. Why is that?
When you look at the Tour, these races are 100 years old. We don't have anything in America that has history like that. It's woven into their culture. So kids are raised on cycling, watching cycling, standing on the roadside, reading about it. When you read the sports papers, it's obvious that it's one of the preeminent sports over there.

It used to be said that anger was a big part of your drive. But looking at you now—here on the massage table, dating Sheryl, house in Spain, international lifestyle—it's hard for me to think of you being pissed off anymore.
Less and less so, it's true. But I still read things that tick me off. Quotes from other riders, especially.

And you try to channel that and use being pissed off to your advantage?
I think all the best athletes do.

Does it ever worry you that maybe you're not pissed off enough anymore?
Oh, when I need to be pissed off, I can still come up with something.

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