Lance Armstrong: I thought it would be easier

From VeloNews, a more humble and contrite Lance Armstrong. He currently is in second place in the Tour de France by thousandths of a second (seriously).

“Here’s a confession: I expected it to be easier,” he said. “I expected it (12 months ago). Six months ago, I did not expect it. I realized – oh shit – this is harder than I thought. That’s the truth.”

A humbled Armstrong also took the opportunity to publicly apologize to riders he slighted in an interview published in John Wilcockson’s new Armstrong biography, calling last year’s Tour “a joke.”

“The Tour was a bit of a joke this year,” Armstrong told Wilcockson. “I’ve got nothing against Sastre or Christian Vande Velde. Christian’s a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on.”

On Tuesday, Armstrong said he regretted those comments.