Lance Armstrong has
been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life after the
International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Monday it had ratified the United
States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) sanctions.
The decision
was announced at a UCI news conference.
According to
Reuters, "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling," UCI President Pat
McQuaid said as he confirmed the ratification.
On October 10, USADA
published a report into Armstrong which alleged the now retired American rider
had been involved in the "most sophisticated, professionalized and
successful doping program sport has ever seen".
Armstrong,
41, had previously elected not to contest USADA charges, prompting USADA to propose
his punishment pending confirmation from cycling's world governing body.
Former
Armstrong team mates at his U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel outfits, where he
won his seven straight Tour titles from 1999 to 2005, testified against him and
were given reduced bans by the American authorities.
Armstrong,
once widely accepted as one of the greatest cyclists of all time given he
fought back from cancer to dominate the sport, has always denied doping and
says he has never failed a doping test.
He said he
had stopped contesting the charges after years of probes and rumors because
"there comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is
enough'".
McQuaid,
whose organization has long battled a major doping problem throughout the
sport, added: "This is not the first time cycling has reached a crossroads
and has had to start anew."
He said he
would not be resigning.
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