AIGLE, Switzerland — The final word on Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles could come Monday when cycling's governing body gives its response to the US Anti-Doping Agency report that paints the American as a longtime drug cheat. The UCI received USADA's 200-page report last week and has until the end of the month to decide whether to ratify USADA's decision to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour victories or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. USADA banned Armstrong for life and said he should lose his titles because of his involvement in “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” In a statement Friday, the cycling body said UCI President Pat McQuaid will hold a news conference in Geneva Monday to “inform on the UCI position concerning the USADA decision on the Armstrong case.” The USADA report has already cost Armstrong key sponsors, including Nike and Anheuser-Busch. Armstrong also stepped down Wednesday as chairman of the Livestrong cancer charity he founded. Armstrong won consecutive Tours from 1999-2005. Tour director Christian Prudhomme is waiting on the UCI's decision before removing Armstrong's name from the record books as the race prepares to celebrate its centenary edition next year. Prudhomme said the Tour will have no official winners for the seven races Armstrong won if he is stripped of his victories by the UCI. Rabobank quits cycling after Armstrong scandal Dutch bank Rabobank ended its multi-million euro backing of professional cycling Friday, the latest sponsor scared away by a doping scandal that has engulfed Armstrong. The bank is the biggest backer of the high profile Dutch Rabobank team, with total sponsorship worth 15 million euros ($20 million) a year in a cycling-mad nation with as many bikes as people. The decision shows the damage being done to cycling after USADA said Armstrong had taken part in and organized a sophisticated doping scheme on his way to success. “We are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport. We are not confident that this will change for the better in the foreseeable future,” Bert Bruggink, a Rabobank board member, said in a statement. “The USADA report was the final straw,” he added later at a news conference televised live in the Netherlands. “The international sport of cycling is not only sick, the sickness goes up to the highest levels,” he said. The Rabobank decision was criticised by British cyclist David Millar, an ex-doper turned anti-doping campaigner, who tweeted: “Dear Rabobank, you were part of the problem. How dare you walk away from your young clean guys who are part of the solution. Sickening.” Rabobank declined to comment on Millar's tweet. But its decision is a blow to Dutch riders including Marianne Vos, an Olympic gold medallist, and her team's preparations for the 2016 Games. Bruggink said Rabobank would do “everything we can to support her 2016 Olympic ambitions” but did not elaborate. — Agencies
