The US Anti-Doping Agency says it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unparalleled seven Tour de France titles after he declared that he would stop fighting the drug charges the organization had laid.
Yesterday's announcement by Armstrong that he would no longer contest the charges put at risk his legacy as one of the greatest sportsmen of all time.
He insisted the decision was not an admission of doping but prompted by weariness with the prolonged legal dispute.
Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would have a lifetime ban imposed today as well as having the Tour titles stripped.
Armstrong asserted that USADA had no authority to take away his Tour titles.
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The sport's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), was expected to make an announcement of its stance on Friday. So far it had backed Armstrong's legal challenge to USADA's authority.
Tygart said UCI was "bound to recognize our decision and impose it" as it had signed the World Anti-Doping Code.
"They have no choice but to strip the titles under the code," he said.
World Anti-Doping Authority president John Fahey told The Associated Press today that he was confident USADA acted properly and "they now have the right to apply a penalty that will be recognized by all WADA code countries around the world."
Armstrong, who retired last year, declined to enter USADA's arbitration process - his last option - because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years.
He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he has passed as proof of his innocence during his extraordinary run of Tour titles stretching from 1999-2005.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He called the USADA investigation an "unconstitutional witch hunt."
"I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999," Armstrong said. "The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense."
USADA reacted quickly and treated Armstrong's decision as an admission of guilt, hanging the label of drug cheat on an athlete, who was a hero to thousands for overcoming life-threatening testicular cancer and for his foundation's support for cancer research.
"It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and athletes," Tygart said. "It's a heartbreaking example of win at all costs overtaking the fair and safe option. There's no success in cheating to win."
Armstrong refused to enter an arbitration process he believes is unfair.
"USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles," 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."
USADA maintains that Armstrong has used banned substances as far back as 1996, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids as well as blood transfusions - all to boost his performance.
The 40-year-old Armstrong walked away from the sport in 2011 without being charged following a two-year federal criminal investigation into many of the same accusations he faces from USADA.
The federal probe was closed in February, but USADA announced in June it had evidence Armstrong used banned substances and methods - and encouraged their use by teammates.
The agency also said it had blood tests from 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent" with blood doping.
Included in USADA's evidence were emails written by Armstrong's former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test.