Lance Armstrong banned and strip of his 7 Tour de France titles

[Extremist]

AUSTIN, Texas: Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said on Thursday he has decided not to continue his fight against the US Anti-Doping Agency's claims that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong, while maintaining his innocence, made his decision after a US federal court dismissed his lawsuit against USADA, paving the way for the agency to continue its probe into the retired American cyclist.

Armstrong accused USADA of launching a "witch hunt" against him and said they were playing with a loaded deck.

"Today I turn the page," Armstrong said in a statement on his Twitter website on Thursday evening.

"I will no longer address the issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title."

The 40-year-old said he was growing weary of the fight and the strain it had put on his personal and professional life.

"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.

"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."

USADA says Armstrong used banned substances, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions dating back to 1986.

Armstrong, who retired from cycling last year, sued in federal court to try and halt USADA's probe but lost.

"The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced," Armstrong wrote.

"The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves.

"It's an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It's just not right."

The USADA later said Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life.

- AFP/xq

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

He now has a new title: he is the biggest cheat (that has been caught) in sports.

 

[Leongsam]

If he doped but then so did 90% of those he rode against.

 

[Leongsam]

He now has a new title: he is the biggest cheat (that has been caught) in sports.

USADA has no evidence. It's all political.

 

[scroobal]

So he realised that his friends in Congress has no clout.

 

[Leongsam]

So he realised that his friends in Congress has no clout.

I really don't know what's going on behind the scenes but I have a feeling it isn't over yet.

 

[I_Hate_Pappies]

Of cos he's a cheat, he is arm strong not leg strong! :p

 

[eatshitndie]

He now has a new title: he is the biggest cheat (that has been caught) in sports.

they were all pretty much doing the same thing, except for the few who trailed way behind. usada happens to be more advanced and ahead than other countries' anti-doping agencies.

 

[eatshitndie]

USADA has no evidence. It's all political.

someone in usada hates his guts. travis tygart. assembled 10 cyclists who were former team mates of armstrong and got them ready to testify if case were to go into arbitration. that's cause for folding in an all-in texas hold'em.

 

[Leongsam]

someone in usada hates his guts.

What I don't understand is why the criminal investigation went nowhere and was dropped. Jeff Novitzky could find nothing that even warranted a grand jury investigation, yet USADA says it has all the evidence needed to nail him for good.

 

[larue]

If he doped but then so did 90% of those he rode against.

It's not the fact that he doped that pisses the French off, or his team mates, or any other TdF cyclist for that matter. They all know he dopes, they all dope themselves, and they all still acknowledge him to be the finest cyclist of them all.

What really gets them pissed off is the manner of his denials. Great for marketing himself in the States, obviously not so hot elsewhere. And they resent his ego and popularity of course.

 

[eatshitndie]

What I don't understand is why the criminal investigation went nowhere and was dropped. Jeff Novitzky could find nothing that even warranted a grand jury investigation, yet USADA says it has all the evidence needed to nail him for good.

it's a classic texas hold'em poker bluff by tygart. in june, tygart assembled witnesses and claimed he had evidence. armstrong threw his chips in and attempted to block it by suing. when judge sparks threw out the suit, armstrong folded. he could have gone into arbitration to prolong the fight, but he folded after 4 days.

 

[Leongsam]

it's a classic texas hold'em poker bluff by tygart. in june, tygart assembled witnesses and claimed he had evidence. armstrong threw his chips in and attempted to block it by suing. when judge sparks threw out the suit, armstrong folded. he could have gone into arbitration to prolong the fight, but he folded after 4 days.

It's the process that I don't understand. It would appear that USADA can play the role judge, jury and executioner without actually having to present a shred of evidence.

It's like the police arresting you and locking you up for life in a holding cell without the accused even being given a chance to plea in an open court.

 

[ConyuConhee]

why you poking the honest nest?
white men do NO DRUGS .... in sports

 

[eatshitndie]

It's the process that I don't understand. It would appear that USADA can play the role judge, jury and executioner without actually having to present a shred of evidence.

It's like the police arresting you and locking you up for life in a holding cell without the accused even being given a chance to plea in an open court.

usada, imo, is over-stepping its boundaries. but for armstrong, the prospect of facing off with his former team mates is daunting, evidence or not. it's emotional. tygart knows that. all tygart wants is admission by armstrong. how he tested negative all his competitive life is besides the point. armstrong should have just admitted, join the side of his former team mates, and perhaps earned some scant sympathy from usada. and tygart might have relented.

 

[Leongsam]

why you poking the honest nest?
white men do NO DRUGS .... in sports

The whites were cheating en masse long before the chinks ever knew what the olympics was all about. They pretty much invented the whole process half a century ago. That's why Tommy Simpson keeled over and died on the top of a mountain. The drugs he took allowed him to push his body beyond what it could endure and he blew a gasket.

 

[ConyuConhee]

It's the process that I don't understand. It would appear that USADA can play the role judge, jury and executioner without actually having to present a shred of evidence.

It's like the police arresting you and locking you up for life in a holding cell without the accused even being given a chance to plea in an open court.

Ravi will understand your feeling .....

 

[hairylee]

Cheat or no cheat, Armstrong played by the rules and was not caught. So he is not considered a cheat.
Just like in army, do what you like as long as you are not caught.

 

[laksaboy]

I thought it was his testicular cancer that gave him the willpower to win.

 

[LeMans2011]

What a joke. A bunch of Sinkies throwing in their support for a WHITE drug cheat.
If Armstrong were a Chink i can't imagine what the comments would have been.