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Friday, Aug 24, 2012 6:45 PM UTC

Armstrong’s fall from grace may help cycling

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Topics: From the Wires,

Armstrong's fall from grace may help cyclingFILE - This July 29, 2001 file photo shows Lance Armstrong riding past the Arc de Triomphe waving the Texas flag after he won the Tour de France cycling race, in Paris. The superstar cyclist, whose stirring victories after his comeback from cancer helped him transcend sports, chose not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That was his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision set the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File) (Credit: AP)

PARIS (AP) — Cycling supporters say that Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace, while sad, may benefit the sport in the future by demonstrating to potential cheaters what can happen to them — eventually — if they dope.

Former Tour de France champion Bernard Thevenet told French newspaper Le Monde that Armstrong’s lifetime ban and loss of his seven Tour de France titles “is really a very strong message to cycling and those around the sport who might be tempted to cheat.”

Cycling’s credibility has been repeatedly battered since the Festina scandal in 1998, when entire teams were ejected from the race.

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