Lance Armstrong Gives Up Fight Against USADA Doping Claims -- Will Be Stripped of All Titles and Banned

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong to be Stripped of Titles, Banned from Cycling

Lance Armstrong announced he's given up the fight against the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and their investigation of doping allegations against the seven time Tour de France winner.

This means that Armstrong will be stripped of his titles and banned from the sport of cycling for life.

Armstrong released a statement that said, in part: "There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now."

Read: Lance Armstrong Ignores Daughter after Ironman Finish

He added, "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 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."

He goes on to say, "Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?"

Armstrong gets his dig in on USADA chief executive officer Travis Tygart, writing in his statement: "I know who won those seven Tours. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially Travis Tygart."

In the end, Armstrong notes his change in focus, writing, "Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet."

Read: Lance Armstrong Accused of Using Performance Enhancing Drugs

Tygart also issued a statement: "It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes. This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition, but for clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs."

Do you think Armstrong should have stopped his fight against USADA?

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