Very few relationships have oscillated between love and hate like Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong. They were close on the USPS men's cycling team that dominated the Tour de France to the point that they became a byword for sporting success. Then their success began to crumble as the industrialised cheating they had literally embodied became known to the wider world.
It is not surprising that Tyler said that he hated Armstrong's guts. In an exclusive interview with OTB AM, Tyler attempted to explain the complex relationship between the two, where they are at the moment and what the future holds for personal relationships sacrificed at the altar of sporting victory.
"We're not friends anymore. Certainly I don't hate him. I used to hate him - hate his guts.
"I don't hate him anymore, I have forgiven him.
"I'm not here to talk about that - I'm here to share my story and tell the truth about what can happen if you don't think about the long-term consequences," said Tyler.
It was a winning mentality that twinned the two for so long, but this was a power balance that was never quite equal. While Lance was undoubtedly the star of the both USPS and cycling, it was his undying desire to best others that began to undermine the friendship between he and Hamilton.
"You can love him or hate him - I loved to win, but Lance really had to win.
"Second to me was really good, but he didn't like to finish in second.
"He was the most motivated person that I saw ever that wanted to win."
That is not to undersell Tyler's own desire to come out on top. His was a situation that would go on to undermine his mental health, and it is only with time that he has realised just how much he had sold his soul along the way.
"The motivation was to win. To beat Lance would have been the icing on the cake.
"It would have gotten worse [with winning]
"Who knows what would have happened? It would have just brought on more pressure.
"I was definitely part of the system, but I was a willing participant. Once I got into it I said 'OK - this is how it's done,'
"I just rolled up my sleeves and looked the other way - I changed as a person - I knew the whole time that it was wrong but I just thought 'F**k it - I'm doing it.'"
Perspective came with time, and the lies that he was telling even those closest to him - his father after the Festina affair came to light - began to unravel. It was the revelations post-Athens in 2004 that would ultimately do for Hamilton, culminating in a complete mea culpa that would rock the cycling world completely.
"I needed to take two, or three, or ten steps back and look at the big picture.
"I was just so in it - so motivated to try and win the Tour de France and beat Lance. I thought 2004 was the year.
"The year before, I got fourth but I did it with a cracked collarbone and I thought 2004 was my year. I had the right team behind me - everything was perfect, or so I thought.
"I needed to separate from the sport. I got caught and I did have to step away from the sport - one of the best things that ever happened to me."
The full interview with Tyler can be found here. OTB AM is on weekdays from 7:45am, and you can subscribe via our YouTube, Facebook and Periscope channels.
