Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has denied numerous accusations of doping over the years. Look back at his record-setting career. Armstrong, 17, competes in the Jeep Triathlon Grand Prix in 1988. He became a professional triathlete at age 16 and joined the U.S. National Cycling Team two years later. In 1995, Armstrong wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France. He finished 36th overall and finished the race for the first time that year. Armstrong rides for charity in May 1998 at the Ikon Ride for the Roses to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He established the foundation to benefit cancer research after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. After treatment, he was declared cancer-free in February 1997. Armstrong takes his honor lap on the Champs-Élysées in Paris after winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1999. After winning the 2000 Tour de France, Armstrong holds his son Luke on his shoulders. Armstrong rides during the 18th stage of the 2001 Tour de France. He won the tour that year for the third consecutive time. Armstrong celebrates winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France in 2001. After winning the 2001 Tour de France, Armstrong presents President George W. Bush with a U.S. Postal Service yellow jersey and a replica of the bike he used to win the race. Armstrong celebrates on the podium after winning the Tour de France by 61 seconds in 2003. It was his fifth consecutive win. Jay Leno interviews Armstrong on "The Tonight Show" in 2003. After his six consecutive Tour de France win in 2004, Armstrong attends a celebration in his honor in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Armstrong arrives at the 2005 American Music Awards in Los Angeles with his then-fiancee Sheryl Crow. The couple never made it down the aisle, splitting up the following year. Armstrong holds up a paper displaying the number seven at the start of the Tour de France in 2005. He went on to win his seventh consecutive victory. As a cancer survivor, Armstrong testifies during a Senate hearing in 2008 on Capitol Hill. The hearing focused on finding a cure for cancer in the 21st century. In 2009, Armstrong suffers a broken collarbone after falling during a race in Spain along with more than a dozen other riders. Young Armstrong fans write messages on the ground using yellow chalk ahead of the 2009 Tour de France. He came in third place that year. Armstrong launches the three-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The event was organized by his foundation. In May 2010, Armstrong crashes during the Amgen Tour of California and is taken to the hospital. That same day, he denied allegations of doping made by former teammate Floyd Landis. Ahead of what he said would be his last Tour de France, Armstrong gears up for the start of the race in 2010. Lance Armstrong looks back as he rides in a breakaway during the 2010 Tour de France. Armstrong finishes 23rd in the 2010 Tour de France. He announced his retirement from the world of professional cycling in February 2011. He said he wants to devote more time to his family and the fight against cancer. Armstrong's son Luke; twin daughters, Isabelle and Grace; and 1-year-old son, Max, stand outside the Radioshack team bus on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France. The frame of Armstrong's bike is engraved with the names of his four children at the time and the Spanish word for five, "cinco." His fifth child, Olivia, was born in October 2010. In February 2012, Armstrong competes in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Panama City. He went on to claim two Half Ironman triathlon titles by June. He got back into the sport after retiring from professional cycling. (CNN) -- Key points of Wednesday's U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that places Lance Armstrong at the center of a sophisticated doping program during the years he dominated the sport. Armstrong has consistently denied doping. -- "The evidence in the case against Lance Armstrong is beyond strong; it is as strong as, or stronger than, that presented in any case brought by USADA over the initial 12 years of USADA's existence." Attorney: Armstrong case a 'witch hunt' 'Dope, or don't compete at highest level' -- "Armstrong's employment of drug dealers and doping doctors on his support team strongly supports the conclusion that Armstrong doped himself, as well as demonstrating Armstrong's round-the-clock access to banned drugs, doping doctors and the facilitators of a team wide doping conspiracy." Evidence of Armstrong doping 'overwhelming,' agency says -- Before a blood test at the 1998 world championships, Armstrong's doctor smuggled in a liter of saline solution, which was used to lower red blood cell ratios. -- Team doctors would "provide false declarations of medical need" to use cortisone, a steroid. When Armstrong had a positive corticosteroid test during the 1999 Tour de France, he and team officials had a doctor back-date a prescription for cortisone cream for treating a saddle sore. -- Before a public weigh-in during the same race, teammate Frankie Andreu noticed a bruise on Armstrong's upper arm that had been left behind by an injection. A team staffer used makeup to cover the bruise, which went unnoticed. Armstrong teammates recount dodging, tricking drug testers -- During one leg of the 2004 Tour de France, Armstrong threatened Italian cyclist Filippo Simeoni, who had confessed to his use of the doping agent EPO and testified against the doctor who provided it to him. Simeoni told investigators that Amstrong said, "I have a lot of time and money, and I can destroy you." Video of the race showed Armstrong making a "zip the lips" gesture at one point. -- Teammates Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie told investigators that Armstrong used blood transfusions to boost his oxygen capacity between 2000 and 2005. What's behind the Armstrong headlines -- In the second quarter of 2010, Armstrong "was providing untimely and incomplete whereabouts information to USADA, thereby making it more difficult to locate him for out of competition testing." During one 2009 occasion in France, Armstrong "left the tester for 20 minutes, ignoring requests to stay within an area that permitted observation." -- "Armstrong's use of drugs was extensive, and the doping program on his team, designed in large part to benefit Armstrong, was massive and pervasive. When Mr. Armstrong refused to confront the evidence against him in a hearing before neutral arbitrators, he confirmed the judgment that the era in professional cycling which he dominated as the patron of the peloton was the dirtiest ever." Armstrong: It's time to move forward CNN's Matt Smith and Carma Hassan contributed to this report. |
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