Acclaimed author David Walsh says the "exhilaration" of pursuing drug-cheat Lance Armstrong was "the journalistic time of my life".
The Kilkenny native, who will be honoured at this weekend's Irish Sports Awards, is best-known for his investigative journalism which played a key role in the eventual downfall of the disgraced former cyclist.
In 2012, Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour de France titles for doping, having repeatedly denied any wrong-doing over many years of success.
Walsh first covered Armstrong in 1993 and says he "loved the guy at that point". He began investigating him in 1999.
"It was a fantastic time in my life," Walsh told Newstalk's Oisin Langan this morning. "I had this obsession with getting my story about Lance Armstrong into an American market.
"It was the journalistic time of my life.
"I always knew, for better or worse, I'd be remembered for it. 'Oh, he was the guy who was obsessed about Lance - what an idiot,' or 'he was the guy who was obsessed about Lance - he was right'.
"The hunt was far better than the end in a way. I mean the end was great - it was a good ending. But, I felt, or me the story was most vibrant when I was chasing and pursuing and turning up stones and finding interesting stuff underneath.
"That's what journalists should be doing and for a time in my life I had the exhilaration of doing that, were it seemed your only friends were your sources. The only people who fully believed in what your doing were the people who were supplying you with the background information. It was just a fantastic time."
Walsh added: "In my view, he was brought down by Floyd Landis writing those emails. And by the United States Doping Agency (CEO) Travis Tygart acting upon them."
In a wide-ranging an typically excellent chat, Walsh also reflected on Armstrong's recent BBC interview in which he admitted he would cheated all over again. "Part of me feels sorry for the guy," he said. "Lance is about 43 years old. He looked 55."
But The Sunday Times man was damning of Armstrong's insistence that he would have doped again in 1999.
Walsh also gave his thumbs up to a new movie about the Armstrong affair, Seven Deadly Sins, which is based on some of the Irishman's work and set for release in the summer.
"I'm looking forward to it coming out," he said. "I seen it a few times. I think they've done a really good job.
"Dustin Hoffman is in a movie that I'm sort of involved in. That's not something that you think is going to happen when you start working as a reporter for the Leitrim Observer in 1978."
He also elaborated on his decorated career as a sports journalist, and discussed the recent prominence of the debate about doping in rugby. Of particular interest were allegations that France players were doped when beating the All Blacks back in 1986. "Of course we must have scrutiny," he warned.
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