Lance Armstrong banned for life!

It is indeed a sad day in sports, especially for cycling enthusiasts, as Lance Armstrong, a name that dominated the sport of cycling for so many years, has been stripped of his titles. The veteran of Tour history has been not only stripped of his seven titles, he has also been banned for life because of the doping allegations that had been proven.

Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, spoke about Lance Armstrong’s future with the sport by saying, “Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling. This is a landmark day for cycling,” according to a report by the Washington Post.

The UCI agreed to all the sanctions that were imposed on Armstrong by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The group didn’t appeal against these sanctions, as it was pretty obvious how things had manifested against Lance Armstrong. The report published by the USADA is very comprehensive. The 200 pages long report details evidences and supporting documents, which testify that Lance Armstrong was involved in doping.

The case remained under scrutiny for almost two weeks and finally gave away substantial evidence after which UCI couldn’t challenge them in the court. There have been instances in the past when UCI supported Lance Armstrong by trying to seize the doping investigation from USADA, but this time, it endorsed a lifelong ban on the veteran.

Everyone associated with the sport is highly embarrassed at how things have turned out. Tour director Christian Prudhomme said he doesn’t consider Armstrong to be a champion from 1999-2005 and he would like him to return all the prize money.

All those who supported Lance Armstrong aren’t happy about the results. Armstrong’s representatives haven’t commented on the ban so far. However, he was pretty adamant on not fighting USDA. He spoke about the controversial ban and his lost titles back in August. He said, ''I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours,'' adding, ''The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that.''

These titles won’t go back to Lance Armstrong after all the investigations. USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement, ''Today, the UCI made the right decision in the Lance Armstrong case.” According to him, there are more cases that are hidden and by stripping Lance Armstrong of his titles, the agency is setting a precedent for present and future cyclists.