Lance Armstrong Stripped Of His 7 Tour De France Medals

The bad news keeps coming for  American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The International Cycling Federation has stripped the one-time gold standard of cycling of his record seven Tour De France medals and banned him from the sport for life.

The International Cycling Union, also known as UCI has agreed with earlier findings and ratified the decision by USADA (United States anti doping agency), stripping the seven-time winner of all his medals, tarnishing his previously-stellar reputation.

At a UCI press conference, the agency, which is alleged to have known about the cheating but took payoffs to look the other way, said " Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling."

The president of UCI Pat McQuaid made the announcement.

Just days ago an investigation found that Armstrong not only took performance enhancing drugs, but that he was the ring leader of the operation, according to his former teammates.

Back on October 10, USADA claimed " Lance Armstrong had been involved in the most sophisticated professionalized  and successful doping program sport has ever seen."

Armstrong won 7 straight Tour De France titles, between 1999-2005. The debate has begun about Armstrong's place in American sports history. While it appears he is guilty of cheating, many are clinging to the fact that he beat testicular cancer and has raised millions for cancer  awareness through his Livestrong Foundation.