Lance Armstrong Is Moving Forward 

Lance’s responses through this whole interview are a perfect example of “If you have to say it, it’s not true.”

Life long cycling enthusiast, former Cat 2 racer. I used to be 100% all in fan of Lance. I'm sorta 50/50 now I think. I'm not the disillusioned former fan who feels "betrayed" and thus finds nothing redeeming in Lance. I followed cycling (and worked in the pro road race industry for a bit) closely enough to know that what Lance is saying in this interview is essentially true.....EVERYONE of any consequence was doping. So Lance's supposed fall from grace on that matter was not that precipitous in my eyes. It was merely the revealing of cycling's worst kept secret. As such the playing field was level and Lance's accomplishments stand as far as I'm concerned. That pretty much covers the 50% that's still a fan....still loves to hear him speak and get his perspective...still thinks he won those 7 TDF in compelling fashion. The 50% that remains has two major objections. The first has everything to do with Lance and second almost nothing to do with Lance. The first was his treatment of innocent non-competitors who's lives he actively sought to ruin in pursuit of maintaining his secrets. Its one thing to be the kind of person who dopes in an arena filled with doped competitors. While the doping itself might be against the rules, it's kinda "fair play" within and with respect to the field of competitors. It's another thing altogether to be the sort of human being who could so viciously go after those who were not directly in the arena or on the field of play. Says something about Lance as a human being that mere doping does not IMO....and what it says is not good. The second has been the continued failure of Lance, or anyone else in cycling for that matter, to fully disclose the ongoing doping in cycling. Sadly, all that Lance's fall from grace seems to have accomplished is providing the powers that be the ability say with a straight face "That was then, this is now" and refer to "doping" as if it all went away after the so-called "Lance era." I'd have much more respect for Lance and the powers that be if they would all simply say "The Lance Armstrong affair merely highlights how systemic and pervasive the doping is has been, and continues to be, in cycling." As it stands, bagging Lance as a doping "trophy" has accomplished nothing IMO. The game is still being played and I'd respect the sport more if it just came forward and openly admitted as much. Hell one is tempted to feel that it'd be better if they just legalized it, put it all under a physician's care, then held the registered physicians responsible for any detrimental outcomes. At least then we'd know what we were watching.

When my son was 8 years old his teacher had the students pick a person in history, dress up like them, research them and present a speech about their life. My son chose his cycling 'hero' Lance Armstrong. Through my son's research of Armstrong, I could see a shift in my son's confidence and his excitement about his love of riding. He read 'It's Not About the Bike' and 'Every Second Counts'. When the doping thing blew up it shattered my son's belief system . . . I explained that Lance is a fallible human being and that he needs to take full responsibility for his lies and get back on track. Unfortunately, that never happened. I raised my son to take personal responsibility for his actions and words - NO BS, NO EXCUSES. Lance has never taken full responsibility for any of his lies/actions. Instead he dances around the truth, points fingers, makes excuses like, "that's what everyone did then" really Lance? The one BIG lesson I was trying to teach my kid was don't follow the crowd . . . decide what kind of human being you want to be and follow your values. I don't know what Lance values. He appears to be a very frightened withheld man/child. I want so badly for him to 'come clean' so I can appreciate the amazing athlete that he really is but it may never happen. I cringed through this entire interview . . .

Love how chilled you were Rich... total pro.

This was a tough listen. He was my hero, my inspiration, my reason for getting out of bed on an early, cold morning to get in a quick 30 miles before work. I'm not sure that this changed my mind about my tarnished hero (he sounded awfully defensive, years later), but it was a great interview. I can FEEL his animosity in this conservation.

"I'm not trying to sound like a jerk"......you don't have to try Lance

I've been an Armstrong fan for a long time. He's such an interesting character. I think you really hit the nail on the head regarding his dilemma. Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy. He's so desperate to get all the details out regarding the entire ordeal, because we all know this thing has probably been blown out of proportion and a lot of misinformation has been put out. But in the meantime he's making himself miserable trying to get the narrative right, because no one cares at this point.

Good on you Rich for challenging this liar on the doping scandal size and scale as well as expertly bringing up anger issues when he was going on tirade denying everything.

The contrast between these two is astounding, Rich is clearly more emotionally tuned in, while Lance has far to go in that regards.

We know he used illegal blood doping and substances and he behaved a bit bad to others at times. However 7 tours in a row and the amount of money towards cancer and awareness not to mention benefitted the cycling industry 10 fold. We need to move forward we all have made mistakes and bad decisions in our past. I think he is incredible when he gives his time to others suffering from cancer and inspire from his battle with illness. We need to let go now and look forward in my opinion he is doing good work let's be positive.

Always the gentleman Rich.

It’s easy to forget, yes he made life very difficult for half a dozen people. But he raised half a billion dollars and gave hope to millions of cancer sufferers and their families. The peloton was dirty as hell for almost all of cycling history, he’s been scapegoated imo. Was indurain really clean at the start of the epo era? Who did he work with? Conconi

So much respect for your multi-faceted intelligence as an interviewer Rich... none of your episodes has not been worth my time 👍🏻

What a riveting interview, all that discipline of yours Rich is coming into play on this, such restraint, such class, but at the end of the day, the truth is still the truth, and there's only one man speaking the whole truth in this interview, and that's Rich Roll!

I'd like to think I never stopped being a fan of Lance Armstrong. I am back on board fully now, in any case, and I will be forever grateful for his inspiration and I applaud his full acceptance of responsibility.

Lance is great at trying to control the conversation. His statement about the athlete not using himself shows he wasn't ready to admit guilt. It doesn't matter whether he tested positive or not his behavior towards others I think was what created the interest in usada going after him.

The crucial thing that Lance will never admit, is how the media backlash worked in his favor in the beginning. What he's complaining about now, regarding the media backlash with people piling on against him, gave him huge clout against all his honest critics in the past. It's a clear story of "what-goes-around-comes-around".

I watched this video to hear about Lance Armstrong but I ended up becoming a fan of Rich Roll. What an interesting person. Subscribed.

Lance is amazing. His utter failure did the one thing all his success couldn’t, it made him human just like the rest of us.

Super stoked and grateful that you did this one with Lance, Rich. Let's hear it then !

He still seems quite angry actually. Good interview Rich you're just letting him speak and he's still hurt 🙏🏼

Always been a big fan of Lance. Never bigger than now. Screw the Hypocrites. He owns it. Can't ask more than that. Great job by Rich as well. Good stuff

Through it all, Lance has managed to preserve his... ego! Was interesting to see how handled this interaction with an unrepentant criminal mastermind, a bit of an excursion away from the mission of featuring guests who exude radical positivity and honesty.

Lance Armstrong still won races. Just like Barry bonds hit homeruns. Still a champion. Kudos on the interview lance stay strong brother. I am one of many who believe in you. All of you need to understand that tue are in every sport today. Btw he is human. Just like you

Yikes! Lance interrupting at 58:53. I wanted to hear Rich finish his point.

Lance seems defensive and uncomfortable. It's a shame. Thank you Rich for being able to work with all types of personalities and always conducting yourself in a positive and amazing manner.

It is hard to get through this interview. Much love to you Rich, I am just not feeling that lance was interested in this conversation. Too bad.

Hi Rich I just came across this podcast today with Lance Armstrong. I couldn't help but compare him do you even though you faced adversity in a whole different light. I'm certainly not downplaying fest in sobriety because I am living proof that one can stay sober if they work their program change their life.0 I am very impressed with your story and I'm very inspired. You obviously have come to terms with the past and have learned from it and have moved forward without regret or anger you have obviously growing spiritually and have made peace with yourself.I tuned into this particular podcast because I hadn't heard anything about Lance Armstrong until just now. He comes across as the polar opposite of you. He has not learned from his past behavior because he does not acknowledge really that he is done anything wrong. Instead he justifies it by saying well we were all in the same boat we were all doing it. Another words, he never took responsibility for his part in the whole fiasco. I was really trouble by his arrogance and his ego. He talked about moving forward when all he has done is define a platform namely his podcast where he can make money again and become famous again but he has no remorse whatsoever for his past behavior I do not respect him. I am very big on forgiveness and believing that people can change. However in order to change one has to acknowledge their part and take appropriate steps to move past it. Justifiable anger will kill you .Denial of any wrongdoing will kill you. 🙄🙏🏼

I don't think Lance realises that most people have moved on more than he thinks

THX for LANCE, for speaking up, for letting us in, for all the infos and viewpoints, and lessons! They can take the yellow jerseys away, but not the 100s of miles of training and not the tours and not the experiences and memories, we always will know who won 7 tours!!!!

Its hard to admit when you are so morally wrong. Shamed by the world but ultimately unable to absorb that internal guilt and convert it into grace. Lance's best atributes are his greatest weaknesses. Determined and fierce to the bitter end. An exceptional human being notheless

It's so nice to see RR's goal is always to find a away to relate the story to growth. To break it down so that others can learn from it. LA wasn't as open to that type of mojo share... he seems to be still be in his story for him... surviving... which I get. He said it himself....he likes to do the thing and not coach. RR is both the teacher and the student...Keep inspiring us RR you are thriving.

I admire Lance, he did achieved something truly amazing. What I don't approve is the way he treated everyone else. He made too many enemies and was quite relentless at it. That was his major downfall.

so true, people that do not understand professional road racing and the training process of those professionals, fail to see how EPO usage on LA team had only a small part on the overall success; most of the success still remained a product of the regimental training and fine-tuning that the team did.

I respect and support Lance 100%

Great to see Lance has survived the truama, I bet the us Postal service enjoyed the profits they made while Lance was dominating the tour. The public like to think continuing to perform at the top of any professional sport happens on bread and water.

Cringe 😬. He walks 5 steps forward then 10 steps backwards . Rich once again you killed it

Armstrong convinced himself somehow that he's happy with who he is and that he is right, but it's obvious this conviction does not go very deep. He is still telling himself and others that it's him that really won and gained most by all of this. It's a sad spectacle to watch. Rich Roll tried to open him up to self-reflection a few times but Lance simply doesn't see it. At one point he actually rudely cuts Rich off ("let me give you an example") which is clearly showing how poorly he is listening and part of the conversation and how he is not in touch with himself at all. Great job by Rich though, he saved this podcast from becoming totally awkward.

Rich knew he was going nowhere with this interview so that’s why he more likely cut the interview to 1 hour.

Why would Lance forgive David Walsh? Lance was the person that persecuted David for writing the truth.

Lance is still so controlling and over-powering in interviews so I feel for Rich in trying to generate any new or noteworthy topics of discussion. Not as hard-hitting as I was personally hoping for. Doesn't sell Lance's ability to put together an interesting podcast though when his ego is still so dominating.

I got a lot out of this. Mainly that Lance is devoid of emotional maturity and can’t answer simple questions. Couldn’t even answer when rich asked him who he’d like to talk to. Huh? I’d like to talk to so many dead and alive! But this was a pretty shameful indictment of Lance as a person. Like passing a train wreck I was compelled to watch but was honestly cringing through most of it and kinda felt bad for ya Rich. Glad I’m not a level of narcissistic like LA and this interview certainly showed me that

Dude - When Lance talks, it's SOOOOOO hard to believe what he says. He just doesn't seem genuine anymore, almost like he had it so good and is constantly lying.

Thanks for doing this interview - my disappointment ran so deep I disengaged when this happened - I️ felt anger whenever his name was mentioned. Today I️ say I’m sorry Lance. For my off the cuff hurt without knowing the full story and you did’t speak up at the time. I️ feel your hurt and I️ know you had a part to play in all this but I️ really feel your pain and that of your family.. that really sucks, and I’m glad you’re a better man for all of it. In your silence I️ hear so much & realize the corruption everywhere- not just sports and athletics - I️ mean everywhere. Stay strong & God bless you. Great interview Rich, thanks!

11:11 'that was the way the game was played at the time' but Lance knows the game hasn't actually changed! 😂

It was really difficult to listen to LA. I will say that as a teacher I appreciated his nod to the Austin school district, teachers, coaches and families that have made sure that his children were not bullied or harassed because of his drama. I have worked in many school districts and feel that these professionals (and families) are often overlooked for their sincere efforts to make these teachable moments. Great job on the interview.

At the end of the day, through him millions was put into Livestong consequently saving and supporting lives. Primarily, he put millions of bums on seats to ride bikes, people are fitter and healthier and made millions for those firms selling bikes. However, he doesn't accept outright responsibility for his transgressions which is frustrating. But we can learn a lot from him and I am grateful for that. I have lost 20 kg, ridden to the top of Alp Du Heux, Mont Ventoux and other Tour mountains. Thank you Lance!!!

this episode is a strong example of how great Rich is as a podcast host and interviewer

Painful. Thanks, Rich, for keeping to the high road.

Great interview Rich you tried to bring it around and back to a true answer and Lance is lance I know that most riders cheated but the level ( blood altering transfusions) and how he attacked to ruin people... too much, but hey it was still a good conversation... cheers

Lance Armstrong doesn't own an iPad, what the hell???? Most astonishing of the whole interview!!

I lived in Austin from 2002 to 2008 and Lance was a hero of Austin to be admired by his fight against Cancer and his filantropic activities. None of this can ever be taken from him. I believe 90% of the people of the world if they were in his place would take similar decisions, because taking drugs was the unwritten Law of that sports, in the same way that almost all russian athlets took drugs. Today in Brazil our former President was arrested. He was for decades one of the most influential politicians in Congress, responsible for legislate some of the laws he broke. If legislators do not follow the laws they create, why should us, common people? The real laws, that we also break, are our own values and ethics and I hope we all can move towards that.

Fascinating interview but he kept interrupting rich, incredibly rude

Hydracortisone is not only used as an anti-inflamatory drug. I am on HC daily because my body does not create cortisol on its own.

A very great introspectif interview of Lance. This video podcast was extremly enjoyable to watch and listen to

when he starts a sentence with "this is the truth" you just assume everything else is BS

I have to admit that this vlog was difficult for me to watch. I will agree with Rich on one idea he touched on, doping in the Armstrong era was widespread - done said it. This isn’t a defense by any means. I think the majority of those of us that follow the sport would have come to grips with the doping, and forgiven it. For me, personally, it was the years of denial that wore on me like a cheap suit. We’re not just talking about 1 Tour de France. This altered nearly a decade of cycling, and the tidal waves created by the ripple affects impacted so many people. Honestly, it has become one of those events in history that you remain aware of but you put it at the far reaches of your mind, hoping that it just stops resurfacing.

I am french, I have just finished to watch the podcast. It was a strange moment. I don't want to talk about what Lance has done, I think it's not fair. As he said all guys were dope. And today in 2021 they still are. In a lot of sports it is like that because they have to, the financial system want that, publics want that, tv wants that. When you are a professional in any sport, you are not the owner of your body anymore. You have to do what people want, that is why I don't want to blame a guy like him. We are as human all responsible of this situation, it's not about religion, skin colors, country, culture... It's about who we are and where we want to go as human.

LANCE IS THE G.O.A.T!!!!

Rich, please do invite him again! and do Iron-8-hours podcast - you both have the endurance!

love how you filmed the podcast. very interesting perspective - like I'm in the room with you both.

Masterful interview by Rich and I appreciate Lance being open, no one forced him to do this.

they both are human. Nobody is perfect. Everybody is perfect. we re just alive.

Lances podcast over the 2017 tour was awesome. Insightful, knowledgeable and funny.

Treat people with respect. Simple

Lance is full of crap when he says theres no steroids in high school football. Half my team was taking them and we were just an average team

I'm downloading this conversation right now! Here's an idea for another podcast: Ever since Juicero's demise I thought that a follow-up with founder Doug Evans would be interesting. While Juicero indeed may have had its faults as a device and business model in my opinion it was undeservedly singled out by the media as epitome of Silicon Valley's "follies". So it would be great to hear Mr. Evans' viewpoint re all that has transpired on a sympathetic forum such a the RRP!

Just watched this interview all these years later. Doesn't seem to have changed one bit, still placing the blame on others. From watching the documentary Stop at Nothing, he threw everyone possible under the bus including people who really cared about him.

so for Rich and for all those who don't know this, the training too hard thing he is talking about means that in November you don't do intevals, depending on your objectives during the season what you do is that you have a different approach of training on different months of the year...

42:00 If you have a tablet or phone, you can download the movie IN the app and watch offline ;). Great interview

Whatever your feelings are about Lance Armstrong you have to admit, he is an interesting speaker and interesting guest

great interview, I am now subscribing to your pod cast.

Rich, you are truly a class act. I really liked how you handled this interview. I respect Lance, but he was all over the place and you kept it together with such sincere respect for him while keeping the show organized, flow, and meaningful. Kudos

Our society tends to still harbor that "stone them there sinners" mentality. At that level EVERYONE is juicing!!! Same for bodybuilding & almost every major popular sporting genre out there.. Yet we love to shame them & humiliate them when our perceived notion of rightreousness kicks in. Guess it makes us feel that 'Yeah I could do the same if I were juicing!" But alas the answer is NO YOU COULDN'T!!! Why? Because most would not work as hard as they do & sacrifice as much as they have!!!

Tense for sure. Rich as always classy. Lance seems terribly wounded, negative, arrogant even. Sad for him. I wish him peace.

Summary for the busy executive: "Yeah, but everybody else was doing it, too." Seems like he still hasn't taken responsibility for his actions.

Pantani was banned, Ulrich was banned they all returned

He manipulates he's shifting the focus,he's justifying stuff which can't be undone..... psychopath. I adored him but nevertheless.

Possibly the most appropriate words from lance to end the cast. "So....how fast did you guys go this morning?" Most competitive guy on earth

I liked how at the end he was like "How was the swim, how fast did you guys swim this morning" :D

Love it, two of my athlete idols in one podcast. Thanks @Rich Roll! What are the mics which were used?

Lance doped but so did the rest of the peloton. That means he still beat his competition fairly. It was the way he treated certain people that I found horrible. His talent and training was also a big part in him winning 7 Tours. If he was the only bloke in the peloton doing PED’s then it would be a different story.

Lance is SO DOPE

Intense!

Nobody cares about the doping; it was his pompous attitude and the dismantling of careers of people who challenged his lies.

"I wouldn't change a thing!" That is actually really scary, considering how much he damaged other people's lives to protect his lies. He is probably a complete sociopath.

Dude, that was such a great episode!!! Really enjoyed the dynamic between you two. Also, your style and subject matter. Aces!!!! Just like Durianrider has said all along to be at the top-level you gotta be on the gas, or get off the ride. It's a harsh, but real part of the game! Keep up the fantastic work!!!

I remember when their team was going strong and they repeatedly shared the narrative of their training, tactics. There were many times when they all could have moved on. They definitely hurt the sport. Them being exposed was ultimately a good thing, it helped to eventually clean up the sport.

Whatever your thoughts are about Lance, you have to admit he's an interesting speaker and interesting guest.

I feel like he didn't answered any questions really... weird.

From dating rockstars and addressing presidents, to getting bullied on twitter, Stars on Mars, and shilling supplements on a C list podcast. Keeping moving Lance! Perhaps get Jenkins to write a followup. It's Not About The Mic.

Lance is very interesting. From my perspective as a fan from Texas who went to see him at the Tour, he was a legend, the greatest pure Tour De France killer cyclist tactician rider ever. He Did however trample so many people which he even admits. I really wanted to think, this guy has been shamed and he is really trying to be a better person. He said something the other day on The Move which I have watched or listened to religiously from day one. George and J.B. were kidding him about comebacks and saying maybe that’s not always a smart thing to do. This was all in the context of Lance persuading Kristen Armstrong to make a comeback for the next olympics. He said, “ no...comebacks are not always a smart thing to do, if I hadn’t done 2009 I sure wouldn’t be sitting here with you guys...

great interview !

8:34 the big question (well done Rich) - but the answer from Lance is very hmmmmmmm, he's stumbles bigtime - and the answer - it feels quite tight, like a legal defence.

Lance was the reason a 360 lb Teenager learned to rude a bike now I'm a fit 50s age grouper in tris

Every pro athlete is doping. Every one. I always remember that commercial where Lance said... “people ask me what I’m on? I’ll tell you what I’m on... I’m on my bike 12 hours a day... that’s what I’m on.” It’s so true. He busted his ass day in and day out and he overcame cancer and he beat all the other doping riders. If you think he took steroids and therefore he won you’re wrong. If I or most other people in the world took steroids we still couldn’t win a local bike race. He won because he worked harder than anyone else. Humans make mistakes. luckily for most of us they are made in private. unfortunately for famous people they are made in pubic and then couch potatoes around the world proceed to rip you apart until you’ve lost everything.

People are jealous of Lance, if they tested professional sports like they did him, there wouldn't be any.

58:55 to bad Armstrong cant listen more...

Very interesting, nice and fun! Thank you guys!

Never in my life have I experienced more ads on a one hour podcast.