In our 20th anniversary issue, on sale now: Josh Eells profiles Lance Armstrong, the world’s greatest endurance athlete; Tom Brokaw interviews Patagonia founder, philanthropist, and environmental activist Yvon Chouinard; Jonathan Miles rides shotgun for the crash-filled, two-week Dakar Rally; and Paul Solotaroff learns about the degenerative nerve condition plaguing the best American climber of all time.

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From Josh Eells’ Lance’s Next Challenge:

On wanting to win the Ironman:
“I certainly don’t have the confidence or cojones to say I’m going to win. But I’m very comfortable saying I want to win. And I want to start winning right away. If everything goes right, I’ll be there in any race. To win the Ironman is very difficult. You can’t screw up nutrition or hydration; no mechanical or technical problems. Basically you can’t make any mistakes. But man. It’d be cool.”

On how an Ironman win could affect people’s opinion of him:
“There aren’t too many people on the fence about me. But if I am on the fence, maybe I look at [an Ironman win] and go, ‘I don’t know what to believe. But this fucking guy has been at the top for 25 years, they’ve thrown everything they could at him, and dammit, the guy is still there.’ I want this bad. If I thought it was cool and good for business, I could just go through the motions and have a respectable finish. But I don’t want to be given the charity slot and get 20th. I want to win.”

On teammates Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton accusing him of doping:
“I’m not even going to comment on those guys, because it opens me up to civil cases and stuff. But I wasn’t surprised. The truth is, one of the riders [Landis] was making threats for years. After a while, I was like, ‘You know what? Go ahead — do it or don’t. Leave me alone.’”

On the investigation:
“The most frustrating and confusing thing I’ve ever been through. I was miserable. If people think I was an asshole before. . . . There were days where you just damn near crack — personally and privately.”

On the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency:
“In my mind, I’m truly done. You can interpret that however you want. But no matter what happens, I’m finished. I’m done fighting. I’ve moved on. If there are other things that arise, I’m not contesting anything. Case closed.”

On the possibility of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripping him of his titles:
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t run around bragging, feeling like I have to be a seven-time Tour de France champion. I worked hard for those, I won seven times, and that’s great. But it’s over.”

On celebrating after the investigation was closed:
“We just got fuckin’ plastered. About five of my buddies came over, and we just sat there and got hammered. I don’t even remember the night. I was shitfaced. Tequila. Shots. I don’t even remember getting to bed — I was that kind of drunk.”

On his reputation for being arrogant:
“I don’t know about arrogant. Definitely a big ego. But all champions have a big ego. If I said something, I backed it up — unless it was the comeback. Whoops.”

On his early relationship with girlfriend Anna Hansen:
“We were never even dating. She’d come to Austin, or we’d meet in Aspen and just hang out. That went on for six weeks — and then she called and said she was pregnant, which I was under the impression wasn’t possible.”

On Jimmy Buffett:
“Talk about somebody who has nothing to worry about. He has fun, and he does exactly what he wants. Fucking Margaritaville, all the time. And he’s loaded — he has hundreds and hundreds of millions, but you’d never know it. I wish I could be more like that. Just a regular guy.”

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