Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life after cycling's world governing body, the UCI, accepted the findings of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) investigation. The UCI president, Pat McQuaid, announced the decision at a media conference in Geneva, stating that Armstrong "has no place in cycling."
The UCI had 21 days to respond to Usada's report, which concluded that Armstrong and his United States Postal Service team ran "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen." Armstrong refused to co-operate with the investigation.
McQuaid confirmed that the UCI would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and would recognise the sanctions imposed by Usada. Armstrong has been stripped of all results since 1 August 1998 and banned for life. Eleven former teammates who testified against him received six-month bans, which were also ratified by the UCI.
McQuaid acknowledged the sport's troubled history with doping, saying, "This is not the first time cycling has reached a crossroads and has had to start anew." He defended the UCI's role, dismissing allegations against the organisation, and called a special meeting to discuss measures to prevent such a situation in the future.
Despite the scandal, McQuaid expressed optimism for the sport's future, stating, "Cycling has a future and something like this must never happen again."
