UCI agrees to strip Armstrong of his 7 Tour titles

[October 22, 2012]  GENEVA (AP) -- Cycling's governing body has agreed to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life.

UCI President Pat McQuaid announced Monday that the federation accepted the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The decision clears the way for Tour de France organizers to officially remove Armstrong's name from the record books, erasing his consecutive victories from 1999-2005.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme has said the race would go along with whatever cycling's governing body decides and will have no official winners for those years.

[Associated Press; By GRAHAN DUNBAR]

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