UCI accepts USADA ruling and strips Armstrong of Tour titles

The Union Cycliste International (UCI) has accepted the findings of the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) and stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles. The American has also been banned from the sport for life.

In a press conference in Geneva today UCI President Pat McQuaid said; "The UCI will ban Lance Armstrong from cycling and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling.'

"[The UCI] will not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and it will recognise the sanctions that USADA has imposed." McQuaid went on to thank everyone who corporated with the USADA's investigation and that nothing like this must happen again.

McQuaid called today a "landmark day for cycling" and promised changes will be made at a special management committee meeting arranged for this Friday. He also defended the much maligned governing body saying they have never had the powers the police have, and that they have only been able to operate in the systems that exist at the time.

Speaking generally of those who dope he said. "I'm sorry that we couldn't catch every damn one of them red-handed and throw them out of the sport at the time."

McQuaid said he would not be resigning and that he had made the fight against doping his priority since he became president in 2005.