Armstrong ends fight against doping charges
American cycling star Lance Armstrong announces he has stopped fighting charges from the US anti-doping agency, which now intends to ban him for life and strip him of seven Tour de France victories.
In a statement, the 40-year-old maintained he is innocent, but says he is weary of the “nonsense” accusations.
The US anti-doping agency (Usada) now says it will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles.
Armstrong retired from professional sport in 2011.
Usada alleges he used banned substances as far back as 1996, including the blood-booster EPO, steroid and blood transfusions.
Armstrong sued in federal court to block the charges but lost.
‘Enough is enough’
“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 the statement.”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 [Usada’s chief executive] 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.”
The Usada, a quasi-governmental agency created by the U.S. 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.
Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer prior to his record-breaking Tour wins, retired after the 2005 Tour de France but made a comeback in 2009.
He retired for a second time in February 2011.