Already looking highly unlikely, any chance that Lance Armstrong had of fighting to regain the seven Tour de France titles he lost has now passed due to a final deadline for appeal lapsing.
The Texan had until Thursday evening to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport but, according to L’Equipe, CAS has indicated that he did not do so.
In August, the US Anti Doping Agency indicated that it had stripped Armstrong of all of his results since August 1st 1998, as well as handing him a lifetime ban. This reasoned decision was sent to the World Anti Doping Agency and the UCI, both of which had the right to appeal if they saw fit.
Neither did so and on December 6th, the UCI formally notified Armstrong’s lawyers that it was backing USADA’s sanction.
They had 21 days to appeal from that point but did not do so, letting Thursday’s deadline pass without a response.
Armstrong still retains the bronze medal he took in the Sydney Olympic time trial in 2000, but the IOC had suggested that it would consider stripping him of this once the other sanctions were made official.
Armstrong is facing a number of lawsuits, including claims by the Sunday Times and SCA Promotions. He had sued both of those in the past, earning a sum of several million euro. Those companies now want that money back, and may also seek interest and penalties.
In addition to that, Armstrong is thought likely to face a Qui Tam whistleblower case, which could prove very expensive for him and others connected to the widespread doping practices on the US Postal Service team.