Lance Armstrong banned from cycling, stripped of the Tour de France after an appeal by Giving Up Doping charges

It has almost everything?

Lance Armstrong — the man who made a trademark out of his surname (LIVESTRONG) and has broken all expectations when fed through his testicular cancer diagnosis in 1996 and went on to win seven Tour de France titles — is be in disgrace after he decided to give up his appeal for expenditure of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, according to reports.

Armstrong announced he was giving the fight in an official statement that he issued on Thursday evening, which means that he will be stripped of his 7 titles in the Tour de France and his Olympic bronze medal.

He was banned from cycling for life.

Here are the words straight from the horse's mouth:

There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "enough is enough".  For me, that time is now.  I care that sustains cheated and had an unfair advantage to win my seven visits since 1999.  Over the past three years, were subjected to a federal criminal investigation of two years followed by witch-hunt unconstitutional by Travis Tygars.  The toll this has taken over my family, and my work for our Foundation and about me leads me to where they are today? nito with this nonsense.

I had hoped that a Federal Court would stop charade by USADA.  Although the Court was sympathetic to my concerns and acknowledged the many irregularities and de? ciencies in USADA's motives, behavior and his trial, the Court has finally decided that it could
not to intervene.

…

USADA can not assert control of an international professional sports and try to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven visits, my teammates know who won those seven hits and everyone that competed against knows who won seven laps.  We all have competed together.  For three weeks over the same roads, same mountains and against time and the elements that we have faced. There were no short-cuts, there was no special treatment.  The same courses, the same rules.  The hardest event in the world where the strongest man wins. No one can ever change it. Especially not Travis Tygars.

Now turn the page. No longer will address this problem, regardless of the circumstances. I will pledge to work I started before having never won a single title: Tour de France serve individuals and families affected by cancer, especially those affluent communities. This October, my Foundation is celebrating 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $ 500 million. We have a lot of work to be done and am looking forward to an end to this needless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energies in the cause of cancer. Will not stop? CLI for that mission. Going forward, I'm going to devote myself to my collection? ve nice (and energy) children? against cancer and trying to be? test 40-year-old on the planet.

Lance argues that USADA's allegations are nothing more than a "witch hunt" and believes that even if he were to fight the allegations, that he would get a fair shake.

As it stands now, since Lance is essentially conceding to accusations, Armstrong could face a backlash from sponsors and organizations who have supported in the past two decades.

It's hard to know who to side with in this case. Armstrong's decision to give in kind of implies the guilt. But you can also certainly understand how a man of 40 years would be tired of fighting over and over again the same battles.

Armstrong doesn't look guilty, but then again, nobody ever doping athletes. There's no denying the irreparable damage and blemish that this will leave on his inheritance, then we must believe that his decision was made with careful thought and analysis.

But question: is he going to give refunds on those little yellow bracelets too, while he's at it?

Because a lot of people who have purchased with the impression that he was, you know, a sample.

Labels: after, appeal, Armstrong, banned, charges, cycling, Doping, France, Giving, Lance, stripped