(REUTERS) – Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life after saying he would no longer fight doping charges by the US Anti-Doping Agency. Armstrong, who became an iconic figure in the sport after winning the Tour from 1999 to 2005, had been accused by the USADA of using performance-enhancing drugs and partaking in a cover-up.
He denies the charges, but has decided not to contest them, meaning his achievements in cycling have been wiped from the history books.
A statement from the USADA read: “USADA announced today that Lance Armstrong has chosen not to move forward with the independent arbitration process and as a result has received a lifetime period of ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results from August 1, 1998 through the present, as the result of his anti-doping rule violations stemming from his involvement in the United States Postal Service (USPS) Cycling Team Doping Conspiracy (USPS Conspiracy).
“Following the dismissal of Mr Armstrong’s lawsuit on Monday, August 20, 2012, by the federal court in Austin, Texas, Mr Armstrong had until midnight on Thursday, August 23, to contest the evidence against him in a full evidentiary hearing with neutral arbitrators as provided by US law.
“However, when given the opportunity to challenge the evidence against him, and with full knowledge of the consequences, Mr Armstrong chose not to contest the fact that he engaged in doping violations from at least August 1, 1998 and participated in a conspiracy to cover up his actions.
“As a result of Mr Armstrong’s decision, USADA is required under the applicable rules, including the World Anti-Doping Code under which he is accountable, to disqualify his competitive results and suspend him from all future competition.”
USADA chief executive Travis T. Tygart commented: “Nobody wins when an athlete decides to cheat with dangerous performance-enhancing drugs, but clean athletes at every level expect those of us here on their behalf, to pursue the truth to ensure the win-at-all-cost culture does not permanently overtake fair, honest competition.
“Any time we have overwhelming proof of doping, our mandate is to initiate the case through the process and see it to conclusion as was done in this case.”
Armstrong, a cancer survivor who was formerly considered one of the all-time greats in his sport, had earlier announced his decision not to contest the charges in a written statement.
“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.
Having lost his seven Tour titles, Armstrong is 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 cancer support 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.
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 team-mates and colleagues of Armstrong who will testify he used doping drugs during races from 1999 to 2005.
Former team-mate 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 team-mates, 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 team-mates 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.