R.I.P. Lance Armstrong 1971 - 2012

Well…he’s not really dead, but he might as well be.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday it was banning cyclist Lance Armstrong for life and stripping him of his record seven wins in the Course De Tricheurs (Race of Cheaters) or the Tour de France, as some naïve folks like to call it.

In a news release, USADA said Armstrong’s decision not to take the charges against him to arbitration triggers the lifetime ban and forfeiture of his Tour victories from 1999 to 2005.

Armstrong announced Thursday night that he'll stop fighting the charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong is still proclaiming his innocence.

In June, USADA announced it had assembled 10 former Armstrong teammates who were willing to testify that Armstrong cheated, and it had also found tests results that were “fully consistent” with blood doping.

Armstrong, who retired from professional cycling in February 2010, responded by suing the agency, hoping to block the case from going forward.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks threw out Armstrong’s case but noted that USADA’s “conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives.”

Nice mess.

Cheaters.