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The myth is extinguished for good. Cyclist Lance Armstrong has lost his seven Tour de France titles. A whole sport is in crisis. The American left is amazing.

The sporting life's work of fallen hero Lance Armstrong, cycling is definitely a pile of rubble. The world governing body UCI has canceled all seven Tour triumphs over the former athletes from the winners list and likes it in the biggest doping scandal in sports history, a decision of historic significance. "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, he needs to be forgotten," UCI president Pat McQuaid said in Geneva.

The World Federation, thus following the reasoning of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency USADA that Armstrong had detected in a more than 1000-page report systematic doping. In an unprecedented manner, the now 41-year-old Texan had therefore itself manipulated and raised a whole doping network.
Battle for millions

. "The Armstrong case is the biggest crisis, who had to confront the cycling ever, the response to this crisis can give us options for the future," said the controversial UCI president: "I was sick when I read the report of the USADA . " Personal consequences he concluded: "I will not resign."

The UCI, which is alleged to have McQuaids predecessor Hein Verbruggen Armstrong machinations long tolerated and covered wants to do away with the fall of the Texan now completely and decide further action on Friday. In addition to the lifetime Ineligibility and the cancellation of all results since 1998, Armstrong is now threatening the recovery of all prize money from that period. Painful for the Americans to avoid the loss of highly paid sponsorship contracts anyway million.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme has already announced the return of the premiums of Armstrong: "The rules of the UCI is clear in this case." Alone for his overall victories Armstrong had collected about three million euros.

"Today, we take away the Armstrong won seven, on Friday we will discuss further. Do this we must change the UCI rules," said McQuaid. Likewise, the world governing body on Friday will decide whether the Tour runner-up of the years 1999 to 2005 subsequently declared winners. Which in turn locked Jan Ullrich would be a four-time winner of the Tour de France, Andreas Klöden was given the title in 2004. "We hope, however, remains that the list of winners in those years know," said tour chief Prudhomme.

On the withdrawal of Armstrong's Olympic bronze medal in the time trial from Sydney in 2000 to decide the International Olympic Committee. "It is the IOC after the announced Friday another decision of the UCI are," said IOC President Thomas Bach.

USADA welcomed the verdict against Armstrong. "Today the UCI has taken in the case of Lance Armstrong, the right decision, it is the only credible", the Agency informed in a statement. "But this is cycling not cleaned, this should now be the task of an independent "truth and reconciliation commission" urged the USADA.

Also in Germany, the decision was generally supports. Scharping, president of the German Cycling (BDR) said: "The decision by the UCI is the burden of proof is decisive only logical that a 'contaminated decade' worked up and finally finished.." Clemens Prokop, president of the German Athletics Federation (DLV), said: "This is the meltdown of the sport, but also an historic opportunity for a new beginning A whole decade of cycling history to be rewritten..."
Relaxed Armstrong

The Heidelberg-doping specialist lawyer Michael Lehner criticized, however, that the UCI had defied the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "The fact that the UCI has accepted the judgment of the USADA is full, not okay. You overshoots the target, because they may not sports law handle arbitrarily. Doping offenses subject to an eight-year statute of limitations. The WADA Code allows a judgment forfeiture of titles and results back to the year 1998 does not apply. "

The Tour history must be changed again anyway. After the sentence of excommunication against Armstrong Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain return with five overall victories than record holder back in the history books.

The cycling between 1996 and 2008, however, will go down permanently after the verdict against Armstrong darkest era in the history: Bjarne Riis, Ullrich, Marco Pantani, Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Alberto Contador - across all sports Tour winner of that period, if not officially out winners or not, is the shadow of fraud. That era is now to be finally eradicated from the history books: "The drug culture has changed and will continue to change," McQuaid said on Monday.

Armstrong, probably the only success of the World Champion title in 1993 remain, had been shown at the weekend emphasized left. "It happened to me once before better, but even much worse," Armstrong said at the gala for the 15th anniversary of his cancer charity he founded in 1997 Livestrong, as its chairman, he had resigned shortly before.

Wants the fight against cancer in the U.S. remains highly popular athletes devote further. "We will not be put off. We will continue. Continue the mission needs." Armstrong's mission as a professional cyclist is the latest ultimately failed since Monday.