Lance Armstrong Apologizes to Livestrong Staff Before Oprah Winfrey Interview

Disgraced athlete urges foundation employees to "keep up their great work fighting for people affected by cancer"

By Rebecca Macatee Jan 14, 2013 9:29 PMTags
Lance ArmstrongTom Pennington/Getty Images

Lance Armstrong is sorry.

Ahead of the disgraced cyclist's Monday interview with Oprah Winfrey, which will air on Thursday, the former athlete turned activist apologized to Livestrong Foundation staffers in Austin, Texas, a representative for the organization told E! News.

According Rae Bazzarre, Director of Communications and External Affairs at Livestrong, Armstrong "offered a sincere and heartfelt apology for the stress [the Livestrong staff has] endured because of him and urged them to keep up their great work fighting for people affected by cancer."

In October, Armstrong, 41, stepped down as the foundation's chairman in the wake of the doping allegations that caused him to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life.

He's consistently maintained his innocence, claiming to have never used illegal performance enhancement drugs, but there's been speculation that he will change his story during his forthcoming interview with Winfrey.

The interview airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on OWN.