Paris: Spaniard Alberto Contador expressed support on Wednesday for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong saying the American was being "humiliated and lynched" by doping accusations which have led to the stripping of his seven Tour de France titles. "It seems to me that at certain times and in certain places Lance is not being treated with any respect," Contador, a double Tour champion who returned from a two-year doping ban in...
12:20 AM, Oct 25, 2012
Paris: While the sports world comes to terms with the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, Tour de France organisers unveiled a mountainous, prestigious route for the 100th edition of the world's greatest cycling race on Wednesday. The 2013 Tour, which will start from Corsica, will take l'Alpe d'Huez's 21 hairpins twice in the same stage, go up the gruelling Mont Ventoux and end at dusk on the Champs Elysees. But with...
04:22 PM, Oct 24, 2012
Oslo: Norwegian cyclist Steffen Kjaergaard, who competed with the disgraced Lance Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Service team in the Tour de France in 2000 and 2001, admitted to doping on Tuesday. "When I was a part of the U.S Postal Service team, everything was organised by the team. I did not need to arrange for a doctor or do anything by myself," retired Kjaergaard told a news conference. "The...
06:28 PM, Oct 23, 2012
London: Californian sunglasses maker Oakley has ended a sponsorship of Lance Armstrong that began 25 years ago when he was a teenage triathlete after the American was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles over a doping scandal. Oakley, owned by Italy's Luxottica (LUX.MI), became the latest sponsor to drop Armstrong after the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Monday ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's sanctions against the 41-year-old,...
09:18 AM, Oct 23, 2012
Geneva: Cycling's governing body agreed on Monday to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life, following a report from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. UCI President Pat McQuaid announced that the federation accepted the USADA's report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The...
05:02 PM, Oct 22, 2012
Paris: France's foreign minister says Iran appears on track to reach the ability to produce a nuclear weapon by the first half of next year. France is one of six countries that have negotiated with Tehran over its nuclear program, which Iran insists is peaceful. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Europe-1 radio Sunday that unspecified experts "have established in an absolutely indisputable way" that Iran has compiled a full array...
03:41 AM, Oct 22, 2012
Genoa: Francesco Totti has collected his 217th goal in Serie A to become the third most prolific scorer on the Italian league's all-time list. The Roma captain found the net with a low, angled shot in the 27th minute of Roma's match at Genoa on Sunday, cutting Genoa's lead to 2-1. Totti had been tied with Giuseppe Meazza and Jose Altafini on 216 goals. Silvio Piola holds the record with...
12:11 AM, Oct 22, 2012
Paris: The Lance Armstrong doping scandal reaches a decisive day on Monday when cycling's governing body announces whether it has ratified the US Anti-Doping Agency's sanctions but whatever happens the affair is set to run and run. International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid will hold a news conference at 1100 GMT on Monday at which he is widely expected to confirm that Armstrong, 41, is banned for life and...
10:14 AM, Oct 21, 2012
"This mission is bigger than me - it's bigger than any individual," Lance Armstrong said on the 15th anniversary of his cancer foundation Livestrong, three days after stepping down as the chairman. ...
12:58 PM, Oct 20, 2012
Austin: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong told supporters of his Livestrong cancer charity on Friday that it had been a difficult couple of weeks but the foundation's mission must go on. The seven-time Tour de France winner stepped down as the foundation's chairman on Wednesday after a doping scandal badly tarnished his cycling career. But Armstrong still took the stage at a gala dinner in Austin, Texas, on Friday to celebrate...
10:01 AM, Oct 20, 2012
Shanghai: American cyclist Lance Armstrong's fall from grace sent a clear message to sportsmen and women around the world that the anti-doping agencies are determined to catch drug cheats no matter who they are, World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) head John Fahey said here Friday. Last week US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) revealed a report of 1,000 pages, including testimonies of Armstrong's 11 former teammates, on systematic doping in the former US...
04:47 PM, Oct 19, 2012
Paris: Spint ace Mark Cavendish is leaving Team Sky in order to fulfil his Tour de France ambitions after spending this year's race serving as a domestique for race winner Bradley Wiggins, the British team said on Thursday. Briton Cavendish, the 2011 world champion who has 23 Tour de France stage wins, will join Belgian team Omega Pharma-Quick Step for the 2013 season. Sky's Team Principal Dave Brailsford said Cavendish...
11:52 PM, Oct 18, 2012
Austin: Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity on Wednesday and Nike severed ties with him as fallout from the doping scandal swirling around the cyclist escalated. Armstrong announced his move at the charity in an early-morning statement. Within minutes, Nike said that it would end its relationship with him "due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for...
06:57 PM, Oct 17, 2012
Berlin: Lance Armstrong should come clean with a full doping confession, while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will look into ways of taking away the former Tour de France champion's 2000 Games medal, IOC vice president Thomas Bach said on Tuesday. American Armstrong, who won the Tour a record seven times from 1999 to 2005, is set to lose his titles after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused him...
07:51 PM, Oct 16, 2012
Madrid: France will field 11 warriors intent on proving Spain are not unbeatable when they play the world and European champions in a World Cup qualifier in Madrid on Tuesday, according to striker Karim Benzema. Benzema, who plays with Spanish internationals including Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid, said he believed the Iberian nation were the best side in the world but insisted France had the...
09:44 AM, Oct 16, 2012
Paris: Hit by injuries and reeling from a surprise 1-0 loss to Japan, with their strikers struggling to score and a patched-up defense looking far from secure, France have enough to worry about without even thinking about Spain's quality ahead of their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. Both teams won their opening two qualifiers to share the lead in Group I. But while Spain cruised into top gear with a...
07:11 PM, Oct 15, 2012
Paris: Zinedine Zidane is taking the first steps towards possibly managing the French national team in the future by joining coaching programme at the French Football National Institute (INF). "I will pass my coaching diplomas (at INF)," 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner Zidane said. Asked if he would be interested in coaching France one day, he said: "Why not, one day, coach this team..." ...
07:56 PM, Oct 14, 2012
Paris: Lance Armstrong may take a lie detector test to clear his name from doping allegations, his lawyer said on Sunday, even though he did not expect the result would change the public's opinion of the American cyclist. Armstrong is set to lose his record seven Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) published a 1,000 page report on Wednesday that said the retired American took part...
04:53 PM, Oct 14, 2012
Paris: Lance Armstrong's success pushed Jan Ullrich to resume doping at the start of the last decade to give the German any chance of competing against his American rival, the 1997 Tour de France winner's mentor said on Friday. Under Rudy Pevenage's guidance, Ullrich won the race 15 years ago but finished second to Armstrong three times between 2000-03. The American won the race seven times in a row from...
05:07 PM, Oct 12, 2012
Paris: France football coach Didier Deschamps has finalised the squad for the World Cup qualifier against Spain. In the 23-man squad he announced Sunday, injured Lassana Diarra was replaced by uncapped Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Clement Chantome, Xinhua reported. Diarra injured his back in Anzhi Makhachkala's 2-0 win at Dynamo Moscow in the Russian Premier League Sunday and was unable to finish the match. Squad: Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve...
11:41 AM, Oct 08, 2012
