US cyclist Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles In an interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey confesses using performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong made his confession during an interview Monday with Oprah Winfrey recorded in his home town of Austin, Texas, the AP reported, quoting an anonymous source familiar with the situation.

The episode of the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ is set to air on Thursday, January 17.

In an interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, the cyclist ended a decade of denial, according to the AP news agency.

It cited a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, because the interview is to be broadcast on Winfrey’s network on Thursday.

Winfrey tweeted after the interview: “Just wrapped with @lancearmstrong. More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!”

She is scheduled to appear on CBS This Morning later to discuss the interview.

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year after a US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report said he was a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labelled the doping regime allegedly carried out by the US Postal Service team that Armstrong once led “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”.

The interview with Winfrey is Armstrong’s first public response to the report.

He is not expected to have provided a detailed account about his involvement, or addressed in depth many of the specific allegations made in the more than 1,000-page report.

A government source has told ABC News that Armstrong had also met authorities to discuss paying back some of his former team’s sponsorship money from the US Postal Service.

The source also suggests Armstrong may give the names of others involved in illegal doping – leading to a possible reduction of his lifetime ban.

The American has apologised to staff at his Livestrong Foundation, saying he was sorry for the distress he had caused. He vowed he would repair the foundation’s reputation.

Armstrong is said to be worth around $100m (£62m). However, most sponsors dropped him after USADA’s scathing report – at the cost of tens of millions of dollars – and soon after, he left the board of Livestrong.

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