Lance Armstrong paid for meals of strangers who verbally abused him in street

‘Whatever they are eating, whatever they are drinking, I don’t care how expensive — it’s on me. Under one condition’

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has acknowledged that he will always be a polarising figure, and has revealed that he once paid for the meals of a group of fans who verbally abused him in the street.

Armstrong was a seven time Tour de France winner between 1999 and 2005, but was stripped of his titles in 2012, and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in 2013.

The former cyclist, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1996, went on to win seven consecutive titles with the help of performance enhancing drugs.

In 2012, a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation named him as the ringleader of “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” and he was stripped of all his titles from August 1998 onwards.

And during an interview for a new documentary, titled LANCE and made for the 30th anniversary of ESPN, Armstrong has admitted that he will always be a controversial figure.

Lance Armstrong in the documentary Lance ((ESPN))

“When my life took the turn that it took, I said to myself, everywhere that I go for the rest of my life, somebody’s going to walk up to me and say ‘f*** you,’” Armstrong said.

“So a couple of days go by and nobody said ‘f*** you.’ Then months go by. And years ago by. I always know when somebody wants to say it. But nobody does. So, it took five years…

“I was staying in this rental house. I called an Uber. He pulls up on the street right in front of the bar. We cross the street and this guy stands up and shouts, ‘Hey, Lance.’ “I’m like, ‘What’s up man?’ He goes, ‘F*** you! F*** you!’

“The next thing you know, he’s with six or seven people and they all stand up and start going, ‘F*** you! You f***ing cheater.’ My friend said, ‘Get in the car right now.’ She’s thinking I’m about to walk over there and punch the s—t out of this guy. Which would have obviously been a bad idea.

“I’d have done that most of my life. I was shocked and mad. I have to do something. Me, Lance Armstrong, doesn’t let s*** like that happen. I called the bar. Here’s my credit card number. Whatever they are eating, whatever they are drinking, I don’t care how expensive — it’s on me. Under one condition. You have to say, ‘Guys, Lance took care of everything. And he sends his love.’”

Armstrong, 48, admits in the documentary that he will likely be a polarising personality for the rest of his life.

“Some people are p***** still, and they will be p***** forever,” he adds.