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‘I know who won,’ Lance Armstrong says after USADA ban

Even as he is to be stripped of his titles, cyclist Lance Armstrong says he knows who won the Tour de France.

Even as he is to be stripped of his titles, cyclist Lance Armstrong says he knows who won the Tour de France.

“My teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that.”

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Thursday night that it will strip Armstrong of those titles. The head of the USADA says Armstrong will also be hit with a lifetime ban, ESPN reports.

Armstrong has released a statement on his website in which he says enough is enough:

“I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. 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.”

Armstrong said he refuses to participate in a one-sided process:

“The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?

Going forward, Armstrong said, he will devote his life to family, fitness and his fight against cancer.

“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.” 

 

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