Lance, newspaper settle deal

London - Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has reached an agreement with the Sunday Times after it had sued the drugs-tainted American for around £1m, the British paper announced on Sunday.

"It is the final episode in a long legal battle between this newspaper and the fallen icon..." the paper said.

The newspaper was forced to pay Armstrong £300 000 in 2006 to settle a legal case after it had questioned his Tour de France victories in an article published two years earlier.

However, after the 41-year-old was stripped of his record seven Tour wins and handed a life ban last year for cheating his way to glory, the newspaper demanded a return of the payout plus interest, as well as costs accrued in defending the case.

After years of denials, Armstrong confessed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year that he used performance-enhancing drugs to cheat his way to the Tour de France wins.