ICU To Rule On Lance Armstrong Doping Charges

Monday means d-day for Lance Armstrong, as the International Cycling Union will rule on whether he will be deleted from the records for the seven Tour de France wins that made him a cycling legend.

The US Anti-Doping agency has already placed a lifetime ban on Armstrong, leaving his reputation as a professional cyclist in ruins, reports CNN.

The Armstrong ruling by the International Cycling Union, however, could strip the world champion and Olympian of his seven Tour de France titles, at the recommendation of the agency.

Armstrong’s story of overcoming cancer and taming the grueling race more than any other cyclist in history made him a household name.

Now, however, the USADA reported finding “overwhelming” evidence that Lance was involved in “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program” in professional cycling.

The agency went on to announce that they would ban Lance Armstrong from the sport of cycling for life, as well as stripping him from his results since 1998. The decision by the Anti-Doping Agency wiped out 14 years of Armstrong’s career.

Fox Sports notes that Pat McQuaid, the International Cycling Union president, will announce Monday morning if the UCI will accept the decision by the USADA to remove Armstrong’s Tour titles, or if they will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

If they decide to do the former, then the Tour de France organizers will have their say. Tour President Christian Prudhomme has already said that, if the UCI decides to take away the cyclist’s Tour titles, he will remove Lance Armstrong’s name from the record books.

Cyrille Guimard, a former sprinter who has won seven Tour de France stages, is highly critical of the International Cycling Union. He believes that Armstrong will be let off. Guimard stated:

“It’s not Armstrong’s interest which is at stake in this affair, but the interest of all those who are involved closely or from afar. I’m fairly skeptical. An amnesty is in the pipeline.”

If Lance Armstrong is removed from the record books, but those victories are not reassigned, then there will be a hole in the record books.