Banned for life! Disgraced Lance Armstrong STRIPPED of seven Tour de France titles as he stops fighting doping charges

Armstrong's remarkable comeback from testicular cancer captured the admiration of the world

US Anti-Doping Agency acted within an hour of Armstrong announcing he would stop opposing the charges

USADA have imposed a life-time ban from cycling on Armstrong



Cyclist says USADA does not have the authority to vacate his wins and says the charges are an 'unconstitutional witch hunt'



Armstrong maintains he is innocent and did not use blood doping



Won seven Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005

American anti-doping officials have stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and imposed a lifelong ban from cycling -- the sport that made him an American hero and a sports icon, it was revealed on Thursday.



The announcement from the US Anti-Doping Agency effectively destroys his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists in history and rubs a black smudge on a story that inspired millions of fans, drawn to his story of returning to glory after recovering from horrific cancer.

The USADA acted within an hour of Armstrong's announcement that he would stop fighting charges that he used blood doping to illegitimately enhance his performance.

Despite the action, Armstrong maintains his innocence and called the USADA's case a 'witch hunt.'

Scroll down for Armstrong's full statement



Done: Lance Armstrong's decision was viewed as an admission of guilt by the US Anti-Doping Agency

Banned: Armstrong has been stripped of his seven titles and can no longer race in a sport that he made famous. Millions of Americans were drawn to cycling because of Armstrong's dominance

40-year-old Armstrong, who retired a year ago, is now officially a drug cheat in the eyes of his nation's doping agency.



USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said earlier that the agency has the authority to remove the titles from the 40-year-old athlete -- and would act promptly to do so.



Armstrong argued that only the International Cycling Union, which oversees the Tour de France, has that power.



'USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles,' he said in a statement. 'I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours.'

USADA maintains that Armstrong has used banned substances as far back as 1996, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids as well as blood transfusions -- all to boost his performance.



'It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and athletes,' Mr Tygart said. 'It's a heartbreaking example of win at all costs overtaking the fair and safe option. There's no success in cheating to win.'

Armstrong declined to enter arbitration -- his last option -- because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he has passed as proof he was clean.

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Comeback: Armstrong was given a 40 percent chance of survival after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer

'Innocent': Armstrong still claims he did not use performance enhancing drugs and says the charges against him are 'unconstitutional'

'There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now,' Armstrong said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He called the USADA investigation an 'unconstitutional witch hunt.'

'I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999,' he said. 'The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today -- finished with this nonsense.'

Armstrong's disgrace on Thursday marks the dizzying fall of an athlete who was regarded as a hero by millions because of his remarkable recovery from testicular cancer.



His foundation has raised some $500million through the sale of iconic 'Livestrong' bracelets, which were seemingly ubiquitous during Armstrong's heyday.

Although he had already been crowned a world champion and won individual stages at the Tour de France, Armstrong was still relatively unknown in the US until he won the epic race for the first time in 1999. It was the ultimate comeback tale: When diagnosed with cancer, doctors had given him less than a 50 percent chance of survival before surgery and brutal cycles of chemotherapy saved his life.

He was diagnosed with cancer in October 1996 and surgeons removed a tumor-ridden testicle during an emergency operation, though the tumors had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain.

Over the course of two months, he underwent extensive chemotherapy and surgery to combat the cancer.



By January 1998 -- one year after his chemotherapy ended -- he was back on the bike and aggressively training.



Glamor: Armstrong was briefly engaged to singer Sheryl Crow before he ended their three-year relationship -- one of several celebrities he was romantically linked with

Family: Lance Armstrong had a fourth child, Max, in 2010 with his girlfriend Anna Hansen, even though he thought he was sterile because of the cancer

Father: Armstrong has a son Luke and twin girls Isabelle and Grace with his ex-wife

Before his cancer, he had won several stages of the Tour de France in past years, but he attacked the race aggressively -- with new passion.

He forged a reputation for himself as a brutal competitor, forcing himself through grueling offseason workouts no one else could match, then crushing his rivals in the Alps and the Pyrenees during the Tour.

His comeback began in September 1998, when he came in fourth at the Vuelta a España -- one of cycling's three Grand Tours.

In 1999, he won the Tour de France and then continued winning it each of the next six years -- capturing the attention of Americans.

Cycling suddenly became popular and the week-long Tour was broadcast on American TV in its entirety.



Armstrong's riveting victories, his work for cancer awareness and his gossip-page romances with rocker Sheryl Crow, fashion designer Tory Burch and actress Kate Hudson made him a figure who transcended sports.

His dominance of the Tour de France elevated the sport's popularity in America to unprecedented levels. His story and success enabled him to enlist lawmakers and global policymakers to promote cancer awareness and research. His Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised nearly $500 million since its founding in 1997.

Champion: Armstrong developed worldwide recognition as a brutal competitor -- crushing the competition for seven years running

Grueling: Armstrong was known for horrific off-season workouts that were nearly unmatched by his competitors

Armstrong walked away from the sport in 2011 without being charged following a two-year federal criminal investigation into many of the same accusations he faces from USADA.



The federal probe was closed in February, but USADA announced in June it had evidence Armstrong used banned substances and methods -- and encouraged their use by teammates. The agency also said it had blood tests from 2009 and 2010 that were 'fully consistent' with blood doping.

Included in USADA's evidence were emails written by Armstrong's former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test. Landis' emails to a USA Cycling official detailed allegations of a complex doping program on the team.

USADA also said it had 10 former Armstrong teammates ready to testify against him. Other than suggesting they include Landis and Tyler Hamilton, both of whom have admitted to doping offenses, the agency has refused to say who they are or specifically what they would say.

Extraordinary: Armstrong's seven straight Tour de France titles led to a surge in the interest in cycling in America and made him a sports icon

Turning: Former teammate Tyler Hamilton accused Armstrong of blood doping and said he had encouraged other members of his cycling team to dope, as well

'There is zero physical evidence to support (the) outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of (doping) controls I have passed with flying colors,' Armstrong said before the ruling.

Armstrong sued USADA in Austin, where he lives, in an attempt to block the case and was supported by the UCI, the sport's governing body. A judge threw out the case on Monday, siding with USADA despite questioning the agency's pursuit of Armstrong in his retirement.

'USADA's conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives,' such as politics or publicity, US District Judge Sam Sparks wrote.

Now the ultra-competitive Armstrong has done something virtually unthinkable for him: He has quit before a fight is over.

'Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities,' Armstrong said.

Armstrong could have pressed his innocence in USADA's arbitration process, but the cyclist has said he believes most people have already made up their minds about whether he's a fraud or a persecuted hero.

Hot water: Armstrong has faces questions about drug use and doping since the 1990s

Created in 2000, USADA is recognized by Congress as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the United States. Its investigators joined US agents during the federal probe, Mr Tygart, the head of USADA had dismissed Armstrong's lawsuit as an attempt at 'concealing the truth.' He said the agency is motivated by one goal -- exposing cheaters in sport.

Others close to Armstrong were caught up in the charges: Johan Bruyneel, the coach of Armstrong's teams, and three members of the medical staff and a consultant were also charged. Bruyneel is taking his case to arbitration, while two medical team staffers and consulting doctor Michele Ferrari didn't formally contest the charges and were issued lifetime ban by USADA. Ferrari later said he was innocent.

In a sport rife with cheaters, Armstrong has been under constant suspicion since the 1990s from those who refused to believe he was a clean rider winning cycling's premier event against a field of doped-up competition.

He had tense public disputes with USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, some former teammates and assistants and even Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France.

Through it all, Armstrong vigorously denied any and all hints, rumors and direct accusations he was cheating. He had the blazing personality, celebrity and personal wealth needed to fight back with legal and public relations battles to clear his name - and he did, time after time.

Armstrong won his first Tour at a time when doping scandals had rocked the race. He was leading the race when a trace amount of a banned anti-inflammatory corticosteroid was found in his urine; cycling officials said he was authorized to use a small amount of a cream to treat saddle sores.

Rally: Less than three years after his cancer diagnosis, Armstrong won his first Tour de France

After Armstrong's second victory in 2000, French judicial officials investigated his Postal Service team for drug use. That investigation ended with no charges, but the allegations kept coming.

Armstrong was criticized for his relationship with Ferrari, who was banned by Italian authorities over doping charges in 2002. Former personal and team assistants accused Armstrong of having steroids in an apartment in Spain and disposing of syringes that were used for injections.

In 2004, a Dallas-based promotions company initially refused to pay him a $5 million bonus for winning his sixth Tour de France because it wanted to investigate allegations raised by media in Europe. Testimony in that case included former teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, Betsy, saying Armstrong told doctors during his 1996 cancer treatments that he had taken a cornucopia of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.

Two books published in Europe, 'LA Confidential' and 'LA Official,' also raised doping allegations and, in 2005, French magazine L'Equipe reported that retested urine samples from the 1999 Tour showed EPO use.

Armstrong fought every accusation with denials and, in some cases, lawsuits against the European media outlets that reported them.

But he showed signs that he was tiring of the never-ending questions. Armstrong retired (for the first time) in 2005 and almost immediately considered a comeback before deciding to stay on the sidelines, in part, because he didn't want to keep answering doping questions.

Seven titles: These are the seven Tour de France victories that Lance Armstrong achieved -- more than any other racer in history

'I'm sick of this,' Armstrong said in 2005. 'Sitting here today, dealing with all this stuff again, knowing if I were to go back, there's no way I could get a fair shake - -on the roadside, in doping control, or the labs.'

But three years later, Armstrong was 36 and itching to ride again. He came back to finish third in the 2009 Tour de France.

Armstrong raced in the Tour again in 2010, under the cloud of the federal criminal investigation. Early last year, he quit the sport for good, but made a brief return as a triathlete until the USADA investigation shut him down.

During his sworn testimony in the dispute over the $5 million bonus, Armstrong said he wouldn't take performance enhancing drugs because he had too much to lose.

'(The) faith of all the cancer survivors around the world. Everything I do off the bike would go away, too,' Armstrong said then.



'And don't think for a second I don't understand that. It's not about money for me. Everything. It's also about the faith that people have put in me over the years. So all of that would be erased.'

LANCE ARMSTRONG MAINTAINS HE IS INNOCENT

Full statement by Lance Armstrong: There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's

unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today -- ﬁnished with this nonsense. I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA's charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deﬁciencies in USADA's motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.

If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and - once and for all - put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to

support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with ﬂying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it? From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges.The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA's improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA's own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully,

threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at US taxpayers' expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top

of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today. The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It's an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It's just not right. USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.

Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop ﬁghting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my ﬁve beautiful (and energetic) kids, ﬁghting cancer, and attempting to be the ﬁttest 40-year old on the planet.