Armstrong stripped of Tour de France titles

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Friday it was stripping Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banning him for life, dismantling one of the cycling's greatest careers.

Armstrong indicated late on Thursday he would not challenge the USADA's charges that he had doped throughout his career, saying "enough was enough" but denying he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs.

The ban is retroactive to August 1, 1998, through the present and includes all seven of his Tour de France victories.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor considered one of the all-time greats in his sport, made the announcement on Thursday in a written statement as he faced a midnight deadline to formally challenge the accusations against him.

Photograph: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson