Despite never failing a drug test cyclist Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles and banned from the sport for life after refusing to fight drug allegations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
"He will be banned for life and loss of results since Aug. 1, 1998," Annie Skinner, a USADA spokeswoman, said in an e-mail last night. An official statement will be issued today, she said.
Armstrong's attorneys sent a letter to USADA yesterday saying he would not seek arbitration of the agency's accusations that he used and trafficked prohibited drugs, allegations the cyclist said were part of an "unconstitutional witch hunt."
"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," Armstrong said in a separate statement. "But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair."
"This is extremely damaging for cycling and very damaging for the Tour de France," Nigel Currie, director of London-based sports marketing agency brandRapport, said in a telephone interview today. "Armstrong has been such a big part of the Tour de France for the past 20 years, and took it to new levels for the American market."
Livestrong won't suffer "irreparable damage, but it won't do it any good either," according to Currie.
Floyd Landis, Armstrong's former teammate who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title because of doping, sent cycling authorities e-mails in 2010 accusing Armstrong and U.S. Postal team officials of breaking doping rules.
Armstrong started his career as a triathlete before switching to cycling in the 1990s."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," Armstrong said in his statement. "Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart."
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