Doping row: Armstrong says it's up to the viewers to judge

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has claimed it's up to the viewers to judge how candid he was during his no-holds-barred chat show with Oprah Winfrey following reports that the American wasn't contrite while confessing to doping in the show.

Armstrong responded to a report in an American daily newspaper, citing an unidentified source, that he was not remorseful when he acknowledged with Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs, Stuff.co.nz reports.

Armstrong also held conversations with US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officials, touching off speculation that the team leader who demanded loyalty from others soon may face some very tough choices himself.

Armstrong's conundrum lies between whether to cooperate with the authorities and name those who aided him or helped cover up a sophisticated doping ring that he ran on his tour-winning US Postal Service squads.

The American added he had no idea what the future holds other than him holding up his kids.

Armstrong's interview with Winfrey won't begin airing until it's show time in US, but already some people want to hear more under oath before he's allowed to compete again in elite triathlons, a sport he returned to after retiring from cycling in 2011, the paper said.

In addition to stripping him of all seven of his Tour de France titles last year, anti-doping officials banned Armstrong for life from sanctioned sports, it further reported.