From being virtually deified for his cancer survival and subsequent seven successive Tour de France wins, a record achievement which has now been erased from the history books, the American was demonized.The fallout has left him persona non grata in the cycling fraternity and vilified on social media but, somewhat surprisingly, he claims to still be well received in society."In this day and age, there's plenty of outlets for people to hurl the most heinous comments that you can think of, you only have to look at the comments that will be at the bottom of this piece," the 42-year-old tells CNN in a phone interview from his home in Aspen, Colorado."But day-to-day life is positive. I never get crap, not once, and I'm surprised by that. Sure, I sometimes get the vibe that someone wants to say something, but it's never happened."The Armstrong lie, or lies -- there have been countless -- plus the bullying and the betrayal ... he knows it has laid him bare to all manner of abuse. Call it what you will, but in his words what ensued was a "shit storm, a fall from grace, a disgrace."And, to put it bluntly, "there is a still a bit of drama out there." A number of the legal cases that followed once his doping was finally exposed have been resolved, but the biggest of all looms large.Armstrong's fight with the U.S. Federal Government over its sponsorship of his former cycling team has potential $100 million ramifications for a man who was previously one of the world's most bankable sports stars."I'm very confident that that's a winner for us," he says. "I don't think anyone can truly argue the U.S. Postal Service was damaged. They made a lot of money in the deal and got what they bargained for."I worked my ass off for them and I'm proud of it. Furthermore there wasn't a technical relationship between myself and the U.S. Postal Service. In many ways, I'm no different to (former teammates) Tyler Hamilton or Floyd Landis or whoever. We were just independent."Armstrong relishes a fight. It's what made him a great cyclist, drugs and all, and he is ready for another one. Perversely, you get the sense he is relishing the next round. It is not one, he says, that gives him sleepless nights despite the possible outcome because, he argues, it is out of his control.But it is that love of a fight that let him down as a human being."I definitely have a 'fuck you' attitude," he says. "I fight in training, I fight to win races, I fight to motivate the guys in the team."That brazenness is a great thing for that but it's not a great place for personal relationships. I just didn't have the switch to turn that off. It helped me on the bike but it also got me where I am today."The list of those he hurt, and who won't forgive him, is long: three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond; journalist David Walsh, who spent more than a decade trying to expose Armstrong; and former friends Frankie and Betsy Andreu, to name just a few.Many have questioned if the Texan's public mea culpa on Oprah and other off-camera apologies are enough, or does he need to show more contrition?"That's a difficult one for me to answer," he says. "You can't do justice in a one-hour conversation. It was a situation for a lot of people that it was too much information, like 'Holy shit, really?' but for other people -- cycling fans, sports fans, for other parts of the population -- it wasn't enough, I didn't go far enough."Armstrong says he's sorry in conversation repeatedly but, at the same time, he knows it doesn't matter to many people. "I don't blame anyone for thinking, 'I don't trust this guy with all his bullshit for 10 years,' " he adds.Some have accepted the apologies, such as his former masseuse Emma O'Reilly, despite him effectively labeling her as an alcoholic prostitute, while others, such as the Andreus and the LeMonds, have not."The LeMonds would never take my phone call, so I can't do anything about that," he says, "and I'm not going to go and camp out on someone's doorstep."My first call was to Betsy and my apology was accepted but, if possible, it appears that's now been revoked. The bottom line is that I'm sorry, I told them and I meant it. Okay, I don't want to have relationships with these people, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm embarrassed about my behavior and I'm sorry. I wish the apology had stuck."All this has spawned from one lie, a refusal to tell the truth that he doped. He has lost count of the people he has lied to. I remember standing face to face with Armstrong at his team bus moments after he had finished a Tour de France prologue. I asked him then if he'd ever doped. He said categorically not, and convincingly so.(CNN)Bakudaily.Az