Lance Armstrong, US cycling star has announced he will no longer fight drug charges from the US anti-doping agency, ahead of a Friday deadline.
By refusing to mount a defence in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s case against him, Lance Armstrong has all but conceded that he won his seven Tour de France titles by doping.
And by walking away from a defence he has ceded those yellow jerseys and lost his status as the most remarkable serial winner in the history of the sport.
Lance Armstrong wrote in a statement : ‘ There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now. ‘
Lance Armstrong Doping Charges / seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished his fight against doping charges
Anti-doping officials have accused Lance Armstrong of using performance – enhancing drugs, including steroids and blood boosters, and participating in a complex doping scheme on his teams while winning the Tour de France every year from 1999-2005.
USADA officials say up to ten former teammates are ready to testify against him and they have drug test results from 2009-2010 that are consistent with doping.
Lance Armstrong says he has passed more than 500 drug tests in his career and accused USADA officials of waging a personal vendetta against him.
A spokeswoman for the USADA, Annie Skinner, said the agency would strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him from the sport of professional cycling for the rest of his life. Travis Tygart, USADA’s chief executive officer said : ‘ It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes. ‘
‘ This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition, but for clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs ‘, he said.
Lance Armstrong doping game over
Texas-born Lance Armstrong, who retired from professional cycling last year but remains the face of his anti-cancer charity, Livestrong, has long denied that he used performance enhancing drugs to help fuel his world career.
Lance Armstrong maintained that emphatic denial in the statement, stressing that there was no physical evidence to support what he called Tygart’s outlandish and heinous claims.
Multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who never failed a doping test, said he would ‘ jump at the chance ‘ to put the allegations to rest once and for all, but refused to participate in the USADA process, which he called one-sided and unfair for him.
Lance Armstrong has been one of the most successful and controversial cyclists of all time, returning to the sport after beating cancer to win the Tour de France an unprecedented seven times.
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