Lance Armstrong's victim not ready to forgive

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AFP) - During Lance Armstrong's reign, dozens of riders would bow to the superiority of the man labelled the 'Boss' because of his iron-fisted rule on the Tour de France peloton.

Arguably, only Filippo Simeoni can claim to have lost his livelihood as a direct result of Armstrong's actions - but the Italian is not sure he can ever forgive the disgraced American.

"I acknowledge Armstrong's confession on television but he put me through such a humiliating experience and damaged me so much, in terms of sport, morale and finances that I don't know if I could ever forgive him," Simeoni told Radio24 on Friday.

Despite winning two stages at the Tour of Spain and the Italian national title in 2008, Simeoni will forever be remembered for a feud with Armstrong that was played out to a global audience at the 2004 Tour de France.