It was 10 years ago today that the explosive doping allegations against Lance Armstrong became public and created a media storm at the Amgen Tour of California. Now, Floyd Landis responds without malice to comments made by Armstrong in Marina Zenovich's ESPN documentary LANCE.

In it, Armstrong says, "It could be worse, it could be Floyd Landis waking up shitty every day," but Landis, who lost his win in the 2006 Tour de France due to a positive testosterone test and was disgraced himself said he has no animosity toward Armstrong.

Commenting on the comments, Landis told ESPN radio host Sara Spain that the documentary interview was conducted several years ago and that Armstrong has been undergoing psychotherapy and may have changed his mind since then.

"I have some sympathy for him. Because I have actually been publicly humiliated and hurt. It's tempting to blame someone else, and sometimes it's easier to find the most obvious thing or person and blame that person. He can blame me. If it weren't for me, it might still be a secret," Landis said, adding that he could no longer stand the lies about doping.

"I couldn't handle it anymore. I had to come clean. He is clearly not happy. I hope he finds peace in his life. I have no more animosity towards him."

Landis said he knew he had to do everything he could for Armstrong to justify his decision to sue the U.S. federal government, which Armstrong settled for $5 million in 2018.

"I didn't know if anyone would believe me, and I figured that Lance's attitude toward life is that nothing succeeds like excess." he is a Hunter S. Thompson fan ....... So I figured if I'm going to fight a guy like that, I'm going to have to go all out

"So I figured I needed someone with some real muscle on my side. I knew that the federal government would surely look into it.

They did indeed look into the case, and Landis got $1.65 million in settlement money, most of which went toward running the Frodo's Pro Cycling team last year.

Landis admitted that his whistleblowing still causes concern. 'It's been a long time now and I should be fine, but I still don't know what it is. It was very hard for me to be publicly humiliated."

Asked what he would say if he had the chance to sit down with Armstrong, Landis said, "I don't know where to start. I mean, I don't think the scenario that he has moved on at least almost as much as I have is just the anger that was directed at me. I'm one of the few people who can directly relate to what he went through, and it might be cathartic for me to talk about it.

"Frankly, I don't think he would find that likely."

Landis further called Armstrong "a very good athlete, the best cyclist I've ever raced with" and "outstanding among elite cyclists." Landis said, "We all have some flaws, and obviously his flaws have been publicized more than anyone would like, but he was unlike anyone else."

"I don't expect the whole world to put themselves in my or Lance's shoes. It's complicated: Lance was once a kid, too, and dreamed of racing motorcycles.