{"id":431173,"date":"2026-02-17T22:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431173\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:45:09","slug":"we-were-never-in-a-position-to-tell-our-side-of-the-story-johan-bruyneel-says-new-hollywood-lance-armstrong-biopic-finally-gives-him-and-armstrong-a-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/431173\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe were never in a position to tell our side of the story\u201d \u2013 Johan Bruyneel says new Hollywood Lance Armstrong biopic finally gives him and Armstrong a voice"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nSpeaking on the TheMove<\/a>, Bruyneel said that while he has no influence over casting or creative decisions, the most important element for him is perspective. \u201cAll I know is that the film will be told from a different perspective,\u201d he said, adding that the angle itself matters more than who ultimately portrays him.A Hollywood retelling, not a cycling one<\/p>\n

The new film is set to be directed by Edward Berger, with a screenplay from Zach Baylin, and has been framed by those involved as a character-driven exploration rather than a procedural reconstruction of anti-doping investigations.<\/p>\n

For Bruyneel, that distinction is crucial. He has been openly critical of previous documentaries and dramatisations of the Armstrong era, including productions linked to the work of journalist David Walsh. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen most of them,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I do know that many facts and events were not told. And if they were told, they were not told in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

That frustration, he explained, has lingered for years, reinforced by what he views as incomplete or one-sided portrayals. The involvement of Armstrong himself in the new film is, in Bruyneel\u2019s view, what differentiates it from earlier attempts.<\/p>\n

\u2018The good, the bad and the ugly\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite welcoming the project, Bruyneel insisted the film would not attempt to soften or excuse what happened during the US Postal era. He described it as a very large production that aims to show the full picture, including the most uncomfortable aspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cLance is involved in the project, and it really will be \u2018the good, the bad and the ugly\u2019,\u201d Bruyneel said. \u201cNothing will be excused, and that is how it should be, but with the necessary nuance.\u201d<\/p>\n

That emphasis on nuance sits at the heart of Bruyneel\u2019s reaction. While the sporting verdicts around Armstrong are long settled, he argues that the absence of balance in how events were later presented has shaped public perception just as strongly as the original offences.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were never put in a position\u2019<\/p>\n

Bruyneel\u2019s strongest criticism is not aimed at the outcome of investigations, but at the process that followed. \u201cWe were never put in a position where we could tell our side of the story,\u201d he said, framing the biopic as the first time that opportunity has genuinely existed.<\/p>\n

Once the film is released, he said, judgment should be left to the audience. \u201cAfter that, people can think whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lance<\/p>\n

Hollywood actor Austin Butler will play Lance Armstrong in the upcoming biopic<\/p>\n

Criticism of the USADA reportBruyneel also reiterated his long-standing objections to the United States Anti-Doping Agency<\/a> report that underpinned Armstrong\u2019s lifetime ban, arguing that it was written in a way he considers far from objective.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe USADA report was written like a novel or a sensational news article,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was certainly not objective.\u201d He added that the consequences for his own reputation were severe. \u201cI was portrayed as the devil, and I know that I am not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accepting the backlash<\/p>\n

Bruyneel acknowledged that the film will inevitably be met with hostility in some quarters, particularly within cycling, where Armstrong remains largely persona non grata. \u201cThere is a small minority who will always continue to see me that way,\u201d he said. \u201cI struggled with that for a while, but I have turned the page.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that he already expects critics who will dismiss the film regardless of its content, but said that no longer concerns him. What matters, he said, is the view of those close to him. \u201cAs long as the people around me value me, I am fine with it. That applies to Lance as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the film ultimately reshapes how cycling\u2019s most controversial period is remembered remains uncertain. What is already clear is that the project\u2019s sheer scale has created a platform that figures from the centre of that era now believe they can finally use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking on the TheMove, Bruyneel said that while he has no influence over casting or creative decisions,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,105193,110286,48450,101,157784,6549,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-431173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-doping","10":"tag-johan-bruyneel","11":"tag-lance-armstrong","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-the-united-states-anti-doping-agency","14":"tag-tour-de-france","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}