Seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has said he would no
longer fight doping charges by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which quickly said
it would strip him of his titles and ban him from competitive cycling.
Armstrong, a cancer survivor considered one of the all-time greats in his
sport, made the announcement in a written statement as he faced a midnight
deadline on Thursday to formally challenge the accusations against
him."There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is
enough,'" the American cyclist said in the statement, which was posted on
his website."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,"
he said.
A short time later a spokeswoman for the USADA, Annie Skinner, said the
agency would strip Armstrong of his seven titles and ban him from the sport
of professional cycling for life.
"It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes,"
Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive officer, said in a written statement
released to Reuters by the agency.
"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.
If the USADA strips Armstrong of his titles he would become one of the
highest-profile athletes to face such a sanction, at least since Canadian
sprinter Ben Johnson was disqualified from the 1988 Seoul Olympics after
winning the gold medal in the 100m race.
Texas-born 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 brilliant career.
He maintained that emphatic denial in the statement issued on Thursday,
stressing that there was no physical evidence to support what he called
Tygart's "outlandish and heinous claims."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."He disputed the agency's authority to
take away his titles."Today I will turn the page," he said. "I will no
longer address this issue regardless of the circumstances."A spokesman for
the World Anti-Doping Agency, based in Montreal, could not immediately be
reached for comment on Thursday night.Armstrong, 40, 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 in succession from 1999 to 2005.
Livestrong, known for its popular yellow bracelets, takes its inspiration
from his achievements and recovery from testicular cancer.The USADA, a
quasi-governmental agency created by the US Congress in 2000, formally
charged Armstrong in June with doping and taking part in a conspiracy with
members of his championship teams. Five other cyclists have been accused of
conspiring with Armstrong over the course of 14 years to hide doping
activity.The agency said in a letter to Armstrong that it has blood samples
from 2009 and 2010 that are "fully consistent" with doping.In the letter,
which was published in the Washington Post, the agency said it also has at
least 10 former teammates and colleagues of Armstrong who will testify he
used doping drugs during races from 1999 to 2005.
Former teammate and deposed Tour de France winner Floyd Landis accused
Armstrong in 2010 of not only using performance-enhancing drugs but teaching
others how to avoid being caught.
Landis said he witnessed some of his teammates, including Armstrong, use
illegal drugs to boost performance and endurance.Earlier this month a
federal judge dismissed Armstrong's effort to block the probe, despite a
contention by his attorneys that USADA gathered evidence by threatening to
ruin the careers of fellow cyclists who have agreed to testify against him.
Armstrong's lawyers also argued that the agency's rules violate his right to
a fair trial and that it lacks proper jurisdiction to charge him.
In February, the Justice Department dropped an investigation centred on
whether Armstrong and his teammates cheated the sponsor of their bike racing
team, the US Postal Service, with a secret doping program.
Armstrong's attorneys say he has "passed every drug test ever administered
to him in his career - a total of 500 to 600 tests ... more drug tests than
any athlete in history."
They say the International Cycling Union has proper jurisdiction in the
case.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
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Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
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