Five years after Lance Armstrong confessed publicly on the Oprah Winfrey Show to doping, the disgraced Texan rider says it cost him over a $100 million. After his confession, long term sponsors such as Oakley, Trek and many others dropped their huge endorsements and sponsorship which drastically reduced his income.
He knew his time was up after the United States Ant-Doping Agency (USADA) labelled the US Postal Service team’s operation as “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”Armstrong was stripped of all results from August 1 1998 and then handed him a lifetime ban which the UCI ratified.
Armstrong promised that he would spend the rest of his life trying to win back the trust and apologize to people he hurt. The ex-rider met with many and apologized for his years of aggressive denials. Some like former soigneur Emma O’Reilly accepted but many others viewed it as mere words.
Betsy Andreu revealed that Armstrong went after her and her husband before the Oprah Winfrey interview to prevent her from testifying in the whistle-blower trial. Armstrong was also hit with several lawsuits. He settled with SCA Promotions and The Times while the rest were dismissed.
However, the Landis whistle-blower case could be the most expensive for Armstrong. The US government is suing him on behalf of the US Postal Service for violating their sponsorship contract. In response, Armstrong’s team claim the Postal Service received far more promotional value than the damages.
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