Lance Armstrong Stripped of all Tour de France Titles

Lance Armstrong, the United States-born cyclist who survived cancer, has decided to end the battle to fight for his innocence against drug charges. Armstrong has been accused of using banned substances, including blood booster EPO, steroids, blood transfusions, and actively participating in and leading systematic doping on his Tour de France winning teams. As a result, he will be stripped of all Tour de France titles and banned from competitive cycling for life.

In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer; however, he had managed to ride with it for most of his career. His condition spread to his abdomen and brain, and eventually, he discovered he had large tumours forming in his lungs. The chances of resuming his cycling career appeared to be bleak and his chance of survival was between 20-50%. His career was put on hold as his fight for survival began. Lance Armstrong was not one to give up; he fought hard during intensive chemotherapy and in the end, he succeeded. One year later, in 1997, he celebrated his life with his return to cycling. He never gave up hope and successfully fought the odds of survival, and continued his strenuously active career.

Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles after fighting his battle with cancer. A man who fought so hard then is now going to throw it all away, and not fight the charges held against him. Many would say that it’s because he is guilty, but why would a man do illegal substances to throw it all away? After fighting so hard to beat the odds and coming back to win many titles, why would he participate in using drugs to have it all taken away again?

All of his titles and records stand to be erased as a result of his decision to give up his fight against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, however, he claims he is innocent. “I am innocent. There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say ‘enough is enough,’ for me that time is now. Over the past 3 years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal unconstitutional witch hunt. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances.” With many accusations held against him and team members willing to testify against him, it does not look good for the record holder who fought all odds to survive cancer.