"Her motivation was not to bring down Lance Armstrong when she went public. Her problem was with what was happening to cyclists at that time. Young guys were dying in their sleep from EPO use and she didn't like the way that doctors and officials were standing by."

Daily Mail reporter Matt Lawton was by Emma O'Reilly's side as the former US Postal masseuse came face to face with Lance Armstrong for the first time in 13 years.

That hiatus had been filled with disparaging comments from the Texan and saw him launch legal proceedings against someone who had worked closely with him.

Lawton was on Off The Ball tonight to recount the meeting between O'Reilly and Armstrong.

"It was clear that they were two people who knew each other well. They spent some pretty significant times together. Having said that, they hadn't seen each other in 13 years and obviously in those 13 years, a lot of mud has been thrown. I wouldn't say there was great warmth, but there was certainly a great deal of respect that he showed her." 

The major headline that came out of the meeting was Armstrong's suggestion that ex-UCI president Hein Verbuggen was involved in covering up doping. That has also fueled O'Reilly's view that Armstrong should not be the only person under scrutiny as Lawton explained:

"Her view now is that if we're not careful that one guy is going to take the rap for everything that is wrong with cycling when it should extend way beyond that. If what Lance Armstrong said to us is true, it does extend way beyond that."