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Lance Armstrong banned for life from Cycling
Updated : Oct 23, 2012
Lance Armstrong was stripped of his sevenTour de France titles and banned for life on after theInternational Cycling Union ratified theUS Anti-Doping Agency's sanctions against the American. The long-awaited decision has left cycling facing its greatest crisis according to UCI president. Armstrong's last hope of clearing his name is dismissed totally. Armstrong, 41, had previously elected not to contest USADA charges, prompting USADA to propose his punishment pending confirmation from cycling's world governing body. Former Armstrong team mates at his US Postal and Discovery Channel outfits, where he won his seven successive Tour titles from 1999 to 2005, testified against him and themselves and were given reduced bans by the American authorities. Armstrong, widely accepted as one of the greatest cyclists of all time given he fought back from Cancer to dominate the sport, has always denied doping and says he has never failed a doping test. He said he had stopped contesting the charges after years of probes and rumors.