"My rivals also cheated," Armstrong hits back, noting how some even got so caught up in the issues prevalent in the sport at that time, it ultimately cost them their lives. "That destroyed some of my competitors. I lost five or six competitors from my generation to banned substances and bad habits."
Although Armstrong himself struggled with substances, he managed to pull himself through. "I had a challenging time and could have given up during that period. But I decided not to and to keep fighting. I am enormously proud that I succeeded," he recalls. "I was born when my mother was only seventeen, and she never gave up during that time. I never gave up, thanks to my mother's example back then. I often thought of her during the dark period, ultimately saving me."
As shown by his regular musing on The Move, Armstrong still regularly keeps an eye on the modern sport. In the American's opinion though, things can definitely be improved. "The organizers don't want to let go of their showpiece, and in my opinion, that is a disadvantage for the sport. If I were to ask my children to watch a
Tour de France stage together, they would all say no," he explains. "Cycling is simply an old-fashioned sport, which hasn't changed in recent years. The way I see it, I don't think much will change in the sport in the coming years. Watching a race all day is not appealing to young people. Young people only like it when something interesting happens."
"I always considered the Tour de France to be my race," concludes Armstrong. "But now that I visit France more often, I feel that the Tour de France belongs to everyone, especially the French. I also really enjoy the country, and Paris in particular. The more often I come to Paris, the more I think about how wonderfully beautiful it is here."