BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

In an effort to resume his career, reports are saying that banned cyclist Lance Armstrong is considering a public admission that he used performance-enhancing substances and blood transfusions.

Armstrong has denied such illegal activity, even after the United States Anti-Doping Agency released hundreds of pages of evidence against him this past October.

The New York Times reported that one source said Armstrong, 41, had been in discussions with USADA executive Travis Tygart in an effort to lift the lifetime ban he has received.

Armstrong won seven Tour de France competitions between 1999 and 2005, but has been stripped of the titles. He is also facing a number of legal issues. He was banned under the World Anti-Doping Code, which states that an athlete might receive a reduced penalty if he fully confesses and admits the details of his doping. He still hopes to compete in triathlons and running events.

Tim Herman, Armstrong’s attorney denied any knowledge of a pending confession.

Herman told an Associated Press report on Yahoo! Sports, ''When, and if, Lance has something to say, there won't be any secret about it.''

Director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency David Howman said he had not been approached to discuss Armstrong’s case. Howman said the USADA could reopen the case if Armstrong offered new information.

Howman said, according to ESPN Dallas, "This is such a significant case with so many issues, and it has had a considerable effect not only on the sport of cycling but the world sports scene itself."

Armstrong has recovered from testicular cancer that had moved to his lungs and brain. The doping revelations caused him to lose a number of corporate sponsors, and he also left the board of cancer-fighting charity Livestrong, which he founded in 1997.