Lance Armstrong set to lose his seven Tour de France titles after giving up USADA fight

Of course he is giving up the fight - because he's a guilty man who has no defence that's why. Guilty as charged, and the loss of his seven TdeF wins is very welcome ....

Going after Merckx and Coppi next!

So in some tours, is it now the guy who crossed the line 4th who is the winner?

Surely only the top 3 podium places were doping; anyone 4th or below must be squeaky clean.

When did cycling get clean?
2001? 2005? 2009? 2012?
Do we now need to put a big asterisk after all pre-200X (tbc) results?
Is there an age of cycling now where the majority of race winners are clean?
Or will we be looking back in 2030 saying how we all feel cheated (again)

I suspect if you went and delved into the pasts of Ullrich, Zulla, Beloki, Kloden & Basso (2nd to Lance in the TdF) you would find some skeletons (or worse)

Do I believe he's innocent? Probably not, much as I'd like to. Has he been tried in the fashion which anyone accused has the right to? No. But he has done something I think quite clever by taking on the mantle of a martyr.

Who's ever going to remember who won any of those 7 tours?

I still want to believe that he did it clean... Maybe that makes me the bigger mug in it all, but I still want to believe.

does this mean the anti- Armstrong gang will now go after Shleck? what will they do now?

Not a very satisfactory conclusion, USADA should have been made to lay their case out warts and all.

Whether he did or not for me Lance will be the winner of those 7 tours right or wrong. It's stupid in my opinion to hand the victories to others, especially in the period we are talking about. As said above who is going after Merckx, Anquetil et al?

Now as for whether he should be sued to reclaim the winnings gathered unfairly is a different, but equally muddy question. As prizes are split up across the team who rode is it a matter of suing each individual who took a share (surely unfair) or sue the winner for the value for him to solely stump up?

Time to draw a veil over the past surely (as in taken reprisals etc, certainly the lessons learned are not to be ignored) and concentrate on the present and future?

Does he have to give back the prize money?

This is a pathetic witch hunt IMHO.

Why on earth don't they present the evidence they have now, rather than smear a man who tries to do so much good in the world and continues to keep himself in great physical condition?

Many suspect he's been "bang at it" for a long time, but again, where is the evidence ?

You only had to hear Ned Boulting on TalkSport this morning to get a distinct feeling that Armstrong isn't held in high regard within cycling or at least the cycling media any more. If that is the case what do the cycling media know ?
Put up or shut up time !

I like the way armchair pundits often wade in on this subject with such certainty. Like anyone not directly involved can really know one way or the other.

Now back to my position squarely atop the fence of apathy.

The life ban is pure vindictiveness and shows USADA for what they are.

TBH glad it's all done and dusted.

It is tragic to see doping agencies resort to corrupt practice to convict someone.

Now we will never know for sure if Lance is guilty. Or what it was that was worse than losing seven tour titles that Lance did not want exposed.

The doping agencies are meant to be the tower of strength against cheats. Now can we trust them? The whole anti doping regime risks becoming a farce.

Well, well, well.

There's a surprise, after years of passive- aggressive legal threats and media attacks on all who dared to question the cancer victim to sporting super hero myth LA now seeks to play the "I'm the tired victim of a USADA witch-hunt card".

LA can now sit back and enjoy the (huge pile) of cash and celebrity whilst denying the cycling world (and those clean-riding victims who tried in vein to to compete with him) the full and proper answers to the many questions of how this breathtaking fraud was carried out for so long under the nose of the UCI.

In light of this news watch this interview clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZgns7CXeUI

to see how Armstrong's uses the cancer cloak to attack those who had the temerity to ask reasonable questions. I wonder how effective the new USADA witch-hunt cloak will be? - maybe someday be he'll make another pile of cash by selling the inside story about how he pulled it off.

Not convinced - can you believe a self governing, self determining, self appointed body to be objective - they're only serving their own ends at the end of the day.

They have no authority to strip any cyclist of Tour wins - that's the jurisdiction of the UCI.

Lets have ALL their evidence - including names of those prepared to swear to Armstrong's guilt, and the inducements offered.

There's always no smoke without fire so come on USADA show us the flames of proof.

Thank you USADA for nothing. Anyone who ever supported Armstrong properly will just ignore your 'findings'. I certainly will be because that's my childhood of cycling and my childhood hero.

Isn't it so easy to take down the tall poppy?
If guys like Tom Simpson, the biggest scapegoat ever for the anti-doping establishment, cannot even place in the Tour, then surely we cannot believe that any Tour winners for the past 50 years have not taken "something". Ask yourself this, do you not take supplements, vitamins, medicines, sports drinks/tonics to improve your health, strength, endurance or fitness. Will these products also become "banned" in the future? We are all creatures of our own time, you cannot criminalise athletes from past eras.

The USADA police all sports in the USA so it should be remembered this case is not just about cycling and stops Armstrong competing as a triathlete and drugging there as well. To those in denial I have some sympathy but Armstrong having the evidence and choosing not to defend himself is to me and I'm sure a lot of others a de-facto admission of guilt. Also the UCI, if some parts of the cycling press are to be believed, have been complicit in covering up his drug taking. The attempts by the UCI to act outside their powers and override the USDA would seem to support these accusations. Any sport association has too much of a vested interest to be allowed to override WADA and the national drug agencies. If the UCI is allowed to continue its attacks on the USDA they will send the message that if you are rich or famous your outside the rules.

Simply it is a sad day for too many reasons.

While I suspect LA is probably guilty, the USADA really appear to be overstepping the line on this. Sure they can ban him from competition just like British Cycling to us, but BC couldn't strip me of victories earned outside it's jurisdiction could it? (happy to be corrected if wrong). If ASO (who are known to be in bed with the UCI) object to having their results amended by a national federation, are we going to end up with 2 different versions of TDF results, one published in the US and another for the rest of the world?!

Whatever, media shitstorm in 5, 4, 3, 2...

There was only one way this was going to end and it was with Armstrong giving up. Regardless of what USADA presented some would say he doped some would say he didn't, there would have been more lawsuits, etc.

Was he doping, who knows, why worry about it. It is in the past, worry about today and tomorrow.

I feel cheated by how this entire affair has been mishandled by USADA.

If ever there was a chance to lay the cards on the table, USADA has seen to it that it never happens.

Shambolic, underhand, misguided, incompetent, irresponsible, unprofessional.

How can we ever rid a sport of cheating when the governing body cheats!

FWIW - I dont believe he cheated, his evidence of lack of positives, shows enough to support that even with that one odd questionable test..or at least nothing different to all others tested the same way.

Removing the opportunity for systematic doping is more important than a witch-hunt. USADA arent doing anything to this extent in this case.

I still don’t really get it. If USADA have proof he doped from his samples that that would be pretty black and white no? It seems like the evidence they have isn’t conclusive which is why all the other investigations have been dropped. Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems USADAs trump card is witness statements, and not from the discredited Landis and Hamilton but from others in the US Postal massive – JV and his band of merry men. Lance’s choice, I guess, was to say he is refusing to fight a body which doesn’t have jurisdiction or air the dirty laundry of everyone in US cycling (his mates and ex-team mates) in some public hearing.

All seems a bit unsatisfactory to me. Have JV and all the US cyclists exposed all taken drugs if so what did they take and when and why are they not being charged? Also seems a bit harsh Armstrong getting stripped of his tours when Ulrich, Pantani and Riis have still got theirs from that era, they are all convicted/admitted drug takers.

Armstrong effectively convicted without any evidence - where is the justice?

Seems like a clever move from Armstrong. By giving in now, before any hard evidence is brought to light, he can still claim the moral high ground. He must have known that the noose was tightening, and as usual, he's found a way to slip out of it. By leaving some doubt, most of his fans will continue to believe he was the subject of a witch hunt.