"The truth is, you had a drug that was undetectable" - Lance Armstrong opens up on drug use and how he avoided testing positive

Once renowned as one of the all-time cycling greats, Lance Armstrong has seen his reputation and standing in the sport ruined since finally admitting to using EPO whilst at his Tour de France winning peak.

But how did the American get away with it for so long? On the Club Random podcast alongside Bill Maher, Armstrong has opened up on his drug use. "In a sense, you would foil the system, but what I always said—and I'm not trying to justify what I ever said as something I would want to repeat again—but one of the lines was, 'I've been tested 500 times and I've never failed a drug test,'" he begins. "That's not a lie. That is the truth. There was no way around the test. When I pissed in the cup and they tested the piss in the cup, it passed."

Read also

"He bribed everyone, he was tyrannical to his teammates and obnoxious to the peloton" - Jerôme Pineau slams Lance Armstrong's recent comments 'the biggest bandit in the history of sport'

When pressed by Maher as to how exactly he circumnavigated the tests however, Armstrong goes into the details. "Now, the reality and the truth of all of this is, some of these substances, primarily the one that is the most beneficial, has a four-hour half-life. So certain substances, whether it be cannabis or anabolics, or whatever, have much longer half-lives," he explains. "You could smoke that joint and go to work driving your tractor... in two weeks and test positive, because the half-life is much longer."

"With EPO—which was the rocket fuel that changed not just our sport but every endurance sport—you have a four-hour half-life, so it leaves the body very quickly," Armstrong told Maher. "With a four-hour half-life, you can just do the math."

Read also

Lance Armstrong: "Jan Ullrich, Marco Pantani and myself were treated differently. This is the price to pay when you are the best in a sport"

As Maher looks shocked, he questions about the potential side effects. "I don't want to encourage anybody to do something that they just don't have to do," Armstrong answers. "The truth is, you had a drug that was undetectable, that was wildly beneficial to performance and recovery. Both are important, but primarily to performance... And, as we were led to believe, which I don't disagree with, if taken under the care of a doctor was safe."

It must be pointed out however, that contrary to Armstrong's comments, USADA believe EPO "has significant clinical utility and therapeutic benefit when used appropriately, but its misuse to gain a performance benefit can result in serious health consequences."

Read also

"Even if it sounds immodest: We were the greatest in cycling" - Lance Armstrong on the close bond he and Jan Ullrich share