During Part 1 of their interview last night, LANCE ARMSTRONG admitted to OPRAH WINFREY right up front that he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.  He was relatively straightforward in admitting he had no excuse . . . but at the same time, he did play the "everybody else was doing it" card a few times.  Part 2 of the interview airs tonight.

Here's why he's coming clean in a nutshell:  There's a FECAL TYPHOON heading his way, and he knows there's no way he can avoid it.  So he's trying to get just enough ahead of it so it doesn't swallow him up completely

You can read a transcript from the interview here, and watch a half dozen video clips on Oprah's site.