AUSTIN, Texas Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Anti-doping chief: Armstrong bullied witnesses
Lance Armstrong
Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home in Austin, Texas, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak publicly on the matter.
While not directly saying he would confess or apologize, Armstrong sent a text message to The Associated Press early Saturday that said: "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."
A confession would be a dramatic break from more than 13 years of vehement denials from Armstrong that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times.
The interview is scheduled to be taped broadcast Thursday night on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Citing an anonymous source, USA Today reported that the disgraced cyclist plans to admit using performance-enhancing drugs, but likely will not get into details of the allegations outlined in a 2012 report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from the sport.
The New York Times first reported last week that Armstrong was considering making a confession.
The 41-year-old Armstrong, who vehemently denied doping for years, has not spoken publicly about the USADA report that cast him as the leader of a sophisticated and brazen doping program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included use of steroids, blood boosters and illegal blood transfusions.
Winfrey's network announced Tuesday that Armstrong agreed to a "no holds barred" interview with her.
A confession to Winfrey would come at a time when some of Armstrong's legal troubles appear to be clearing up.
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