Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, the US Anti-Doping Agency said, after the cycling icon announced he would no longer fight the drug charges that have stained his legacy. USADA said late Thursday that Armstrong will be banned for life for using performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling’s most prestigious race from 1999 to 2005 — charges that Armstrong has vehemently denied. Armstrong, while maintaining his innocence, earlier announced his decision after a US federal court dismissed his lawsuit against USADA this week, paving the way for the agency to continue its case against him. USADA said in June it had evidence that Armstrong used banned substances, including information supplied by former team-mates. Armstrong accused USADA of an “unconstitutional witch hunt”, as he declined to pursue procedures that could have taken his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
