Giving up the fight

Lance Armstrong not fighting to clear his name may mean he has something to hide, says Richard Moore.

"There will be a dwindling band of people who will refuse to accept that Armstrong cheated, some people will always believe that he was clean and there are a growing amount of people who don't accept that and will regard him as having perpetrated this huge sporting fraud."
Richard Moore Quotes of the week

Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong is likely to be stripped of his titles after announcing he will not fight the charges filed against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Armstrong, who also faces a lifetime ban from the sport, said in a statement on his personal website that he is "finished with this nonsense" and insisted he is innocent, however the decision has surprised Moore who says the American has never walked away from a fight in his life.

"I think it is surprising," said Moore on Sky Sports News.

"Most people know the Lance Armstrong who has never shirked a fight in his life - whether that be beating cancer or winning the Tour de France.

"It does not look good for him because you imagine it is a fight that he did not think he had a chance of winning, so you are led towards the conclusion that the evidence against him was significant."

Tests not foolproof

Moore also believes that arguments that Armstrong has never failed a test in his life are not exactly true and explained why the USADA's proceedings were not dropped like the federal case for alleged doping in February 2012.

"The circumstances surrounding the federal investigation being dropped have never been fully disclosed and there is some mystery around that. The case was taken up by the USADA and it became a sporting case rather a criminal case or fraud - although you could argue this is sporting fraud on a grand scale.

"There is suspicion that he did fail some drug tests - one was overturned because he had a prescription for cortisone at the 1999 Tour de France. Some of those samples came to light later on that suggested he had used EPO and there are also the allegations that the UCI -cycling's governing body - covered up a positive test a couple of years after that.

"The testing system is not foolproof by any means and I think an awful lot of athletes in cycling like Ivan Basso and Alejandro Valverde have served bans when they have never actually tested positive. I think we can look beyond the tests and look for other evidence that they might have doped."

Armstrong believers

Moore is frustrated that the truth will never come to light though and that Armstrong will never have to answer his allegations at a proper hearing.

"Over the coming months we will read an awful lot of allegations from former team mates and associates but the sad thing is that these will never be tested in a court of law so there will always be a question mark.

"Armstrong will always be able to deny them and I think that means that the case comes to a very unsatisfactory conclusion.

"While he will be stripped of his titles, he will continue to maintain that he is the seven times winner of the Tour de France

"What needs to be done is that the UCI's role in this needs to be examined properly because they stand charged of some very strong allegations as well in terms of cover ups and colluding with Armstrong and that needs to be investigated fully.

"There will be a dwindling band of people who will refuse to accept that Armstrong cheated, some people will always believe that he was clean and there are a growing amount of people who don't accept that and will regard him as having perpetrated this huge sporting fraud."