Lance Armstrong

BBC

Lance Armstrong will have to repay his Tour de France winnings after being stripped of his seven titles by cycling's governing body.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) stripped Armstrong of all results since August 1, 1998 on Monday, reports the BBC.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme called the UCI's decision "totally logical".

"The UCI rules are clear," he said. "When a rider is disqualified, he must pay the prize money back."

It has been estimated that Armstrong won around £2.4m, some of which was shared with his US Postal team-mates, for winning the Tour de France in seven successive years from 1999 to 2005.

The UCI accepted the findings of the United States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) investigation into systematic doping and called for Armstrong "to be forgotten."

The UCI management committee will meet on Friday to discuss the "exact sporting consequences" of the decision, including whether the titles and prize money will be re-distributed, but Prudhomme repeated his wish that the results from the Armstrong years are not reallocated.

"We hope that there is no winner in these editions," he said.
"A formal decision must be taken by the UCI but for us, very clearly, there must be a blank record."

Armstrong has also been asked to return $7.5m in bonuses to Texas insurance company SCA Promotions.
The International Olympic Committee will await Friday's UCI meeting and further information before a decision is made on the bronze medal Armstrong won in Sydney in 2000.

Armstrong overcame cancer to return to professional cycling. He has always denied doping but chose not to fight the charges filed against him.

He has amended the biography on his Twitter page to remove mention of his Tour wins.

USADA released a 1,000-page report earlier this month which included sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team and the doping activities of its members.