Wait, Did Lance Armstrong Lie to Oprah During His Apology?

Lance Armstrong admitted to Oprah that he doped through all seven Tour victories. (Photo: AFP/GETTY)

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong sat down with Oprah Winfrey earlier this week to publicly apologize for lying to his fans and the American public about his “doping” habits.

However, according to ABC News, while supposedly “coming clean” about “juicing," Armstrong may have lied to his Oprah.

ABC News explains:

Armstrong, 41, admitted for the first time that his decade-long dominance of cycling and seven wins in the Tour de France were owed, in part, to performance-enhancing drugs and oxygen-boosting blood transfusions. He told Winfrey that he was taking the opportunity to confess to everything he had done wrong, including angrily denying reports for years claiming that he had doped.

Investigators familiar with Armstrong's case, however, said today that Armstrong didn't completely come clean. They say he blatantly lied about when he stopped doping, saying the last time he used the drugs and transfusions was the 2005 race.

"That's the only thing in this whole report that upset me," Armstrong said during the interview. "The accusation and alleged proof that they said I doped [in 2009] is not true. The last time I crossed the line, that line was 2005."

"You did not do a blood transfusion in 2009?" Winfrey asked.

"No, 2009 and 2010 absolutely not," Armstrong said.

However, contrary to what Armstrong says, investigators familiar with his “juicing” disagree with his version of events.

“They said today that Armstrong's blood values at the 2009 race showed clear blood manipulation consistent with two transfusions,” ABC News reports. “Armstrong's red blood cell count suddenly went up at these points, even though the number of baby red blood cells did not.”

Bottom line: Armstrong received a transfusion of mature red blood cells, according to investigators.

“If Armstrong lied about the 2009 race, it could be to protect himself criminally,” investigators said.

Wow. If the investigators are right, and Armstrong did indeed lie during his interview with Oprah, what’s the penalty for lying to your confessor?

Exit Question: Why is he confessing to Oprah anyway? Did we miss something?

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Featured image courtesy Getty Images.