Lance Armstrong is on verge of lifetime ban and lose 7 titles

Lance Armstrong, the US cycling star will be banned from cycling for lifetime by the USADA. The cyclist is also at a risk of losing all the seven Tour de France titles. He has retired now and wants to stop fighting the charges against him. On August 23, 2012, he gave a statement to the Associated Press explaining that he was going to stop fighting charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He also said USADA doesn’t have the authority to vacate the Tour titles won by him. Armstrong’s lawyers threatened a court case if USADA proceeded, arguing that the USADA must first settle a conflict with the International Cycling Union about whether the case must be pursued or not.

The cyclist was alleged to be using performance enhancing drugs. He was on a deadline Thursday evening. His whole statement has been posted to his website. He has not admitted to doping, but he said that he was tired of going through the whole process. As per Armstrong, the investigation is an unconstitutional witch hunt. Earlier this year he had won against the Department of Justice investigation. But now he is fed up of fighting and assumes that he had enough. He stated that the whole investigation is a one sided and unfair process. Armstrong has passed over 500 drug tests in his career and accused USADA officials of waging a personal feud against him.

The 40 year old cyclist retired from cycling in 2011 and walked away without being charged following a 2 year federal investigation into many accusations. That investigation was closed in February. In June, USADA announced that it had evidence for Armstrong using banned substances and methods for enhancing performance and encouraging their use by team members. The agency also claimed of having blood tests from 2009 and 2010 that proved the blood doping. Doping rumors and allegations have teased Armstrong throughout his career. The latest USADA charges spawned a war among sports agencies. Armstrong’s lawsuit was dismissed earlier this week by a federal judge, forcing him to decide to stop the fight.