Armstrong cuts charity ties

The Lance Armstrong Foundation appears to have dropped the disgraced cyclist from its name becoming the Livestrong Foundation.

The Chicago tribune reports that the Foundation has filed papers to officially change it's name and almost all reference to Armstrong has been removed from its website.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency has admitted that the Lance Armstrong case is "part of a wide-ranging doping battle that will never be completely won".

John Fahey said that drug use in sport was "bubbling away below the surface" and that "there are still problems that could surface at any time".

A spokeswoman for the Livestrong Foundation Katherine McLane has told Reuters that the cyclist Lance Armstrong remains the organisations "inspiration".

The 41-year-old is still the biggest donor to the cancer charity having contributed $7 million.

Ms McLane also confirmed that the cyclist will remain involved despite resigning from the Board of Directors.

The Chairman of the Livestrong Foundation has thanked the cyclist Lance Armstrong for his commitment to fighting cancer.

Lance Armstrong has resigned from the board of his cancer charity - cutting formal ties with his Livestrong Foundation.

New board chairman, Jeff Garvey, said he stepped down to spare the organisation any negative effects resulting from the controversy surrounding his cycling career.

The US Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong of helping run "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen".

A nine metre effigy of disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong has gone up in flames at a firework display in Kent.

The model of Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping offences, was torched in Edenbridge.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will launch an investigation into the bronze medal won by Lance Armstrong at the 2000 Olympics after he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in the biggest doping scandal to hit the sport.

An IOC official told Reuters, "The IOC will now immediately start the process concerning the involvement of Lance Armstrong, other riders and particularly their entourages with respect to the Olympic Games and their future involvement with the Games".

Armstrong, who won a time trial medal at the Sydney Games, was stripped of his 1999-2005 Tour victories last month when the International Cycling Union ratified a US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) decision to erase his results from August 1998.

Armstrong has always denied allegations that he was involved in doping and maintains he never failed a drugs test.

After Team Sky sporting director Steven de Jongh quit his role as sporting director, team principal Dave Brailsford said:

Steven de Jongh has left his role as a sporting director at Team Sky after admitting to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.

De Jongh is the third member of Team Sky, the team Bradley Wiggins rides for, to leave the Tour de France-winning team after its zero-tolerance approach to doping was restated in the wake of the Lance Armstrong affair.