Fans stunned by Armstrong decision

The decision by Lance Armstrong – one of sport’s greatest serial champions – to stop fighting doping allegations was met with disbelief by critics and fans alike today.

The cancer survivor will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his record will be forever tarnished as that of a cheat.

Yet the 40-year-old Texan continues to deny any wrong-doing, claiming: “There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ’enough is enough’. For me, that time is now.

“I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999.”

Armstrong was known as a ferocious rider who never quit, and won worldwide admiration for his battle against cancer, returning to health to win cycling’s most famous race seven times.

While his sporting record will be destroyed, his heroic standing outside cycling will surely also be tarnished.

Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation, which helps cancer survivors, helped start the trend of charity wristbands, and his yellow bracelets became trendy for celebrities and fans alike in the middle of the last decade, raising millions of pounds.

On Twitter, Lord Sugar reacted to the news the cyclist was giving in by saying: “Lance Armstrong says can’t be bothered to fight over drug allegations. Yeh right ... you would fight like crazy to retain your integrity.”

Rugby’s Mike Tindall said: “The biggest loser in the Lance Armstrong affair is the sport of cycling, to try and change results over the 15 years seems ridiculous.”

But others defended Armstrong, saying he never failed a drugs test.