Irish journalist who brought down Lance Armstrong is vindicated at last

Tour De France doper was first exposed by David Walsh in London Sunday Times

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Irish journalist David Walsh is vindicated with Lance Armstrong's admitting to doping during his cycling career

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He told the Irish Post, “When I first met him [1993], I kinda liked him, I warmed to him. His drive, his ambition, ‘I’m going to be somebody.’

“But as I watched him you could see the profile of the racer he was — he was a one-day racer. He was never meant to go up mountains with the best guys. That’s what doping can do: it can change a guy that should be a donkey in the Tour de France into a thoroughbred. The old drugs would make a guy a better donkey. But he’d still be a donkey.

“Now, the blood doping makes guys who should never be capable of winning the Tour de France, capable of winning the Tour de France.

“Merckx, Hinault, Anquetil won it in their first year. Lance Armstrong rode the Tour four times [before 1999]. His best position was 36th. He never came near the leaders in the mountain stage.”

Walsh was convinced he had the goods on Armstrong and resigned from his job after the Sunday Times, where he was Chief Sports Reporter, wary of libel charges, refused to print the dope charge story. He un-resigned after a version of his piece that the paper thought would avoid libel charges went ahead in the Sunday Times.

However, The Sunday Times was promptly sued for £600,000 ($964,776) and lost.

Despite this Walsh continued investigating the story as Armstrong soiled the good names of Walsh’s sources, including Armstrong’s former masseuse, Irish-born Emma O’Reilly.

Read more: Irish woman Emma O’Reilly blew the lid on Lance Armstrong’s doping

Armstrong called O’Reilly, who owns her own business in Manchester, a whore while under oath during the SCA case.

The modest journalist, who has now won Best Sports Journalist and then Best Journalist, told the Irish Post Armstrong was a complete cheat.

“I ended up being the recipient of a ridiculous amount of praise, because I don’t deserve anything like the praise I got,” he says modestly.

Armstrong will confess and apologize about his dope use during a 90 minute interview that took place at his Austin home on Monday. The interview will air on Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network. It will be the first time Armstrong has publicly responded to the doping investigation. The Daily Mail reported, “A person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press a day earlier that Armstrong will give a limited confession and apologize.”

Armstrong will not likely give many details about his involvement in the doping scandal nor go into depth on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) allegations. Armstrong told the Associated Press on Saturday, “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.”

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