The US Anti-Doping Agency stripped Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles Friday, erasing one of the most incredible achievements in sports after deciding he had used performance-enhancing drugs to do it. Armstrong, who retired a year ago, was also hit with a lifetime ban from
cycling. An athlete who became a hero to thousands for overcoming cancer and for his foundation's fight against the disease is now officially a drug cheat in the eyes of his nation's doping agency.
In a news release, USADA said Armstrong's decision not to take the charges against him to arbitration triggers the lifetime ineligibility and forfeiture of all results from Aug. 1, 1998, through the present, which would include the Tour de France titles he won from 1999 through 2005.
Armstrong has strongly denied doping and contends USADA was on a "witch hunt" without any physical evidence against him.
The 40-year-old former champion announced late on Thursday that he was dropping his legal challenge against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which claim he used performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's most prestigious race from 1999 to 2005.
Armstrong, who battled to the top of his sport after beating life-threatening cancer, maintained his innocence but said he was growing weary of the fight and the strain it had put on his personal and professional life.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say 'enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," he said on his website, adding: "Finished with this nonsense."
However, the anti-doping agency maintains that Armstrong used banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions dating back to 1996, and said 10 of his former team-mates were ready to testify against him.
Armstrong argued that USADA was usurping the jurisdiction that should belong to world cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI).
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cycling. An athlete who became a hero to thousands for overcoming cancer and for his foundation's fight against the disease is now officially a drug cheat in the eyes of his nation's doping agency.
In a news release, USADA said Armstrong's decision not to take the charges against him to arbitration triggers the lifetime ineligibility and forfeiture of all results from Aug. 1, 1998, through the present, which would include the Tour de France titles he won from 1999 through 2005.
Armstrong has strongly denied doping and contends USADA was on a "witch hunt" without any physical evidence against him.
The 40-year-old former champion announced late on Thursday that he was dropping his legal challenge against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which claim he used performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's most prestigious race from 1999 to 2005.
Armstrong, who battled to the top of his sport after beating life-threatening cancer, maintained his innocence but said he was growing weary of the fight and the strain it had put on his personal and professional life.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say 'enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," he said on his website, adding: "Finished with this nonsense."
However, the anti-doping agency maintains that Armstrong used banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions dating back to 1996, and said 10 of his former team-mates were ready to testify against him.
Armstrong argued that USADA was usurping the jurisdiction that should belong to world cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI).
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