Oakley became the latest sports brand to sever ties with Lance Armstrong Monday after International Cycling Union (UCI) said it had accepted the  U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) sanctions against him.



The UCI confirmed early Monday that it will not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and that it will recognize the USADA sanction. In other words, the UCI banned Armstrong from recognized competition for life and stripped him of all title won from 1998 forward, including his seven Tour de France victories. 


“Based on UCI’s decision today and the overwhelming evidence that USADA pesented, Oakley has severed its longstanding relationship with Lance Armstrong, effective immediately,” read a statement released by Oakley Monday.


“When Lance joined our family many years ago, he was a symbol of possibility. We are deeply saddened by the outcome, but look forward with hope to athletes and teams of the future who will rekindle that inspiration by racing clean, fair and honest.
“We believe the LIVESTRONG Foundation has been a positive force in the lives of many affected by cancer and, at this time, Oakley will continue to support its noble goals.”


In its statement, UCI said the world’s anti-doping agencies must now determine how it is that Armstrong’s doping escaped detection.


“The UCI has tested Lance Armstrong 218 times,” read the statement. “If Lance Armstrong was able to beat the system then the responsibility for addressing that rests not only with the UCI but also with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and all of the other anti-doping agencies who accepted the results.

“The UCI supports WADA’s decision to create a working group to examine ‘The Ineffectiveness of the Fight Against Doping in Sport’ and proposes that it commence its work by examining the effectiveness of the system in place to detect the use of performance enhancing substances in cycling. The UCI is committed to reviewing the environment upon which the sport operates in order to ensure that something like this never happens again. It has convened a special meeting of its Management Committee on Friday, October 26th to begin the process of examining the existing structures and introducing changes to safeguard the future of cycling.”