The International Cycling Union has ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's sanctions against Lance Armstrong by stripped the American of his seven Tour de France titles and banning him for life.
The UCI's president Pay McQuaid says the long-awaited decision has left cycling facing its "greatest crisis", and has destroyed Armstrong's last hope of clearing his name.
McQuaid says he's been sickened by what he read in the USADA report, and after being battered by doping problems for decades, cycling will have to start all over again.
The UCI president, who has been criticised for his and the UCI's handling of the affair, says he won't be resigning.
Meanwhile the director of the Tour de France says he doesn't want to see any other riders inheriting Armstrong's withdrawn titles.
The International Olympic Committee says it will take its time to digest the latest news amid suggestions that Armstrong could be stripped of his 2000 Sydney Olympics time trial bronze medal.
