UCI strips Armstrong of Tour de France victories

Geneva - At a press conference today, President Pat McQuaid announced that Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France victories. The decision comes on the back of the 1,000 page report by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which accused Armstrong of cheating.

The Guardian reports, UCI (International Cycling Union) President McQuaid told the assembled press that Lance Armstrong "has no place in cycling". The assertion came as McQuaid announced the UCI's decision to strip Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour victories. The UCI has not yet decided whether or not it will also require Armstrong to return all the prize money he received. According to the Daily Telegraph, McQuaid told the press conference: I've called a special management meeting next Friday ... for that to happen will need a change in UCI rules and only the management committee has the power to make rule changes. According to Sky News, the UCI has confirmed Armstrong's life time ban from competitive cycling. It is also reported that the UCI has decided that the seven Tours, from 1999 to 2005, will have no official winner. As Reuters points out, this is because doping was so widely practiced in the sport at the time.