Lance Armstrong Defiant in Face of Doping Allegations

A defiant Lance Armstrong on Wednesday rebutted the US Anti-Doping Agency's claims that he is a drug cheat, telling throngs of supporters at a Montreal cancer conference: "I won the Tour de France seven times."

Published

9 months ago

Categories

Sports, Pro Sports

People

Lance Armstrong

Places

Canada, United States of America, Montreal

Transcript

SHOTLIST: MONTREAL, AUGUST 29, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV SOUNDBITE 1 Lance Armstrong (man), American cyclist and cancer survivor (English, 27 sec): "My name is Lance Armstrong, I am a cancer survivor. I've been asked to come up here and talk about my story of survivorship. I'm a father of five, and yes, I won the Tour de France seven times. (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE). And for those who have no idea what I am talking about, I love you. (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER)." SOUNDBITE 2 Lance Armstrong (man), American cyclist and cancer survivor (English, 18 sec): "I have to tell you all, and I am going to tell you as if you are friends and partners and allies, I am not going to be distracted from this fight. The global burden is too big. I don't think anybody at my organization, at the Lance Armstrong foundation, anybody at Livestrong, is going to be distracted. We have too big of a job to do." - Armstrong at podium - Various media - Armstrong during speech, through blackberry screen - Crowd - World Cancer Congress sign ------------------- AFP TEXT STORY Cycling-US-Canada-Armstrong-doping Cycling: Armstrong defiant in face of doping allegations MONTREAL, Aug 29, 2012 (AFP) - A defiant Lance Armstrong on Wednesday rebutted the US Anti-Doping Agency's claims that he is a drug cheat, telling throngs of supporters at a Montreal cancer conference: "I won the Tour de France seven times." The US cycling icon and cancer survivor is set to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after he waived the right to fight serious doping claims by the US agency at an independent hearing. Armstrong briefly addressed the allegations at the World Cancer Congress in Montreal, saying to applause: "My name is Lance Armstrong, I'm a cancer survivor... and yes, I won the Tour de France seven times. "And for those who don't know what I'm talking about, I love you," he added cheerily. Armstrong's Livestrong campaign has collected nearly $500 million for cancer research and helping people cope with the disease. He told conference delegates that there is still "too much to be done" in the fight against cancer that "we can't be distracted," alluding to the doping scandal. "I wont be distracted." Later Armstrong was to go for a seven and a half kilometer (4.6 mile) run in the city, and invited Montrealers to join him.