UCI to give ruling on Armstrong's case 'at any time'

Union Cycliste Internationale, the ruling body of the cycling sport, has said that they will respond to the accusation on seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) very soon. The anti-doping agency found Mr. Armstrong guilty of using drugs.

The cycling union officially received the report sent by the anti-doping agency last week and will have to come up with a decision by the end of the month i.e. October 31.

The anti-doping agency has reportedly decided to repeal Armstrong's Tour De France titles.

While talking to the press on Thursday, UCI chief spokesman Enrico Carpani said that such a decision could be reached as early as tomorrow.

He added, "From now on be very careful, because the UCI decision could be any time," according to a report by Yahoo News.

Carpani, the former president of the UCI, stated that he expects the union to respond late next week to the allegation brought forward by the anti-doping agency, which claims that Lance Armstrong is a serial drug cheat and doesn't deserve to hold such a high decree in the cycling sport.

Hein Verbruggen was also dragged into this issue, but he refused to comment on the report issued by the doping agency in a telephonic interview. He claimed that he would state his claim once the union gives its decision.

"The UCI is studying the USADA report and they will issue a report ... toward the end of next week," Verbruggen said. "My reaction (to the newspaper) was strictly limited to the fact that Lance Armstrong was never found positive by the anti-doping laboratories, that there was no positive test and that there was nothing to be covered up," added Verbruggen.

Verbruggen was the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale from 1991 to 2005. It was within this tenure, 1999-2005 to be exact, that Lance Armstrong won seven consecutive Tour De France titles.

The US Anti-Doping Agency has already banned Armstrong from ever competing again and is of the mind that the American's titles be repealed owing to his involvement in "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

The issue has also led to Nike, a long-term endorser of Armstrong, to cancel the sponsorship of the former champion, stating that the evidence is insurmountable and Armstrong has been fooling them for over a decade.