"I'm a flawed character," Lance Armstong said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The seven-time Tour de France winner – who has been stripped of all titles he has won, including an Olympic Games bronze medal – has come clean on his doping.

He cheated for several years. Now he has come forward with his story.

Those of you who missed it can read it all on The Malta Independent website and, take our word, it is a story of a man who has finally admitted what has been suspected for many years.

For a time, Lance Armstrong was a hero. He had come back from a fight against cancer to become one of cycling’s greats, if not the greatest. But doubts started to creep in.

As the Associated Press report said, whether his televised confession will help or hurt Armstrong's bruised reputation and his already-tenuous defence in at least two pending lawsuits, and possibly a third, remains to be seen. Either way, a story that seemed too good to be true — cancer survivor returns to win one of sport's most grueling events seven times in a row — was revealed to be just that.

"This story was so perfect for so long. It's this myth, this perfect story, and it wasn't true," he said. "It's a major flaw, and it's a guy who expected to get whatever he wanted and to control every outcome. And it's inexcusable. And when I say there are people who will hear this and never forgive me, I understand that. I do. ...

Anti-doping officials have said nothing short of a confession under oath — "not talking to a talk-show host," is how World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman put it — could prompt a reconsideration of Armstrong's lifetime ban from sanctioned events.

Sport, in particular cycling, has been tarnished with a story like this. When one remembers the glory that surrounded Armstrong with each of his victories, the perfect image he was given in the media and the way he was adored by his fans, an end like this makes all sports lovers sad and, most of all, angry.

We have heard stories related to doping. But this stands out, because it lasted such a long time without anyone being able to stop the cheating. It is probably even bigger than the Ben Johnson story from the 1988 Olympic Games. That race lasted 10 seconds, and Ben Johnson was soon history. But Lance Armstrong won for many years, won all that he could win in the sport, and yet no-one was able to see through what he was doing.

Cycling will take long to emerge from this story. Perhaps the whole of the sporting world will take long to recover.