Sydney, Jan. 15 : Banned cyclist Lance Armstrong has confessed that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, a person familiar with the situation has revealed.

Armstrong made the confession during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which is to be broadcast on Thursday.

According to news. com. au, Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year after a voluminous US Anti-Doping Agency report that showed him as a `ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race'.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labelled the doping routine reportedly carried out by the US Postal Service team that Armstrong once led `the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen'.

After a federal investigation of Armstrong was dropped without charges being brought last year, USADA stepped in and carried out its own investigation.

The agency accused Armstrong of masterminding a `complex and brazen drug program' that included steroids, blood boosters and a range of other performance-enhancers, the report added. (ANI)