Why Lance Armstrong removes Tour victories in his Twitter account?

As late as Monday night, Armstrong's profile included a mention of his seven wins from 1999-2005 but it disappeared hours after the International Cycling Union stripped him of the titles and banned him for life as it backed the doping charges against him.

Now his profile reads: "Raising my five kids. Fighting Cancer. Swim, bike, run and golf whenever I can."

It's a change from the "Father of 5 amazing kids, 7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter, part time triathlete" formerly posted.


It was the only immediate reaction from Armstrong to the UCI decision amid the greatest doping scandal in sports history.

Armstrong's empire has unravelled as he is chased for millions of dollars in bonuses, his records are being wiped out and sponsors desert him.

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said he no longer considered Armstrong a seven-time winner of the world's most prestigious cycling race but the title for those years would remain "blank".
Speaking after cycling's governing body ratified the US Anti-Doping Agency's decision to strip Armstrong of wins since August 1998, Prudhomme welcomed the decision, reiterating his belief that there should be no new champions declared for the seven Tours that Armstrong had won.
Prudhomme's comments follow UCI president Pat McQuaid's announcement that this was the biggest crisis the sport had ever faced and he was sickened by the revelations.
"The UCI will strip him of his seven Tour de France wins. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling... He deserves to be forgotten in cycling," McQuaid said.
Dallas insurance company SCA Promotions immediately demanded the return of millions of dollars in bonuses paid to Armstrong now that the his Tour de France victories have been expunged.
"Mr Armstrong is no longer the official winner of any Tour de France races and as a result it is inappropriate and improper for him to retain any bonus payments made by SCA," Jeffrey Dorough, general counsel for the firm, said.
He lost another big-name sponsor when Oakley, the sports eyewear maker, broke off its relationship with the disgraced American cyclist.
"When Lance joined our family many years ago, he was a symbol of possibility," it said in a statement.
Oakley, a unit of Italy's Luxottica group, the world's biggest eyewear manufacturer, added however that it would continue to support the "noble goals" of Livestrong, the cancer charity that Armstrong founded.
Sponsors started abandoning Armstrong this month when the USADA alleged he and his US Postal Service teammates were at the heart of the most sophisticated