I hope that it will soon be determined that the case that USADA initiated against me should never have gotten as far as it has. Due to the sensitive nature of legal proceedings, I have been advised that it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.
11.20 The decision to level the charges on Armstrong by the USADA was based on, from what it is believed, ten witness statements from former colleagues of his stating that he used performance enhancing drugs or helped organise their use. It's understood that some of these riders will be immune to prosecution and will have their bans for their own use of enhancing drugs substantially reduced for co-operating in the investigation.
11.07 Brendan Gallagher suggests that while the Armstrong case may be over, several questions remain unanswered.
His decision to walk away from the entire USADA process opens an ugly can of worms. This whole business was never going to end well but this is the worst case scenario. Armstrong might or might not be guilty of the long term use of Performance enhancing drugs – and by this stage everybody, including many of those running the sport, has their own opinion set in concrete, which is more than half the problem – but this development clouds the issue further....
.... Then consider this. If USADA unilaterally strip Armstrong of his titles who do they put in his place? Do we obliterate seven years of Tour de France history which included some of the great stages in Tour history, and declare them null and void. Jan Ullrich was Armstrong's perennial runner-up, does he get upgraded? Let's not even go there.
11.00 Armstrong said in a statement earlier today that he was "finished with this nonsense" after failing on Monday to gain a temporary restraining order against the agency's legal action at a federal court in Austin, Texas. He said:
Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene. If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance.
But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities.
10.52 Good morning everyone. We have woken up to the news that seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong faces being stripped of all his titles after ending his battle against drug charges levelled against him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The 40-year-old has denied doping throughout his career and has reaffirmed his innocence but said he did not want to spend any further effort clearing his name. Stick with this blog throughout the day for the latest up-to-date news, views and reaction as it breaks.
