Lance Armstrong has been officially banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, the USADA announced on Friday after the cyclist dropped his fight against doping charges on Thursday night.
The USADA has claimed to have proof of several charges against Armstrong, including the "use and/or attempted use of prohibited substances," the "possession of prohibited substances," the "trafficking of EPO, testosterone, and corticosteroids," as well as charges of assisting in the cover up of the violation of anti-doping rules.
"Nobody wins when an athlete decides to cheat with dangerous performance enhancing drugs, but clean athletes at every level expect those of us here on their behalf, to pursue the truth to ensure the win-at-all-cost culture does not permanently overtake fair, honest competition" said USADA CEO, Travis T. Tygart. "Any time we have overwhelming proof of doping, our mandate is to initiate the case through the process and see it to conclusion as was done in this case."
Armstrong had until Thursday, Aug. 23 to decide whether to continue his fight against the charges after the dismissal of his lawsuit in an Austin court on Monday.
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