Lance Armstrong has announced he will stop fighting a barrage of drug charges from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), putting at risk his unparalleled string of seven Tour de France titles and his legacy as one of the greatest sportsmen in history. Armstrong's declaration on Thursday night sets up a likely lifetime ban from the sport and the possibility that he will be stripped of his signature achievement the extraordinary run of Tour titles he won from 1999 to 2005. File photo : © Frederic Nebinger/ABACA. 48068-18. Paris-France. 27/07/2003. Second placed German Jan Ullrich (L) of Team Bianchi and victorious US Postal-Berry Floor's Lance Armstrong (R) from the US stand side by side on the podium after the 20th stage of the 2003 Tour de France cycling racein Paris, 27 July 2003. Armstrong became the second rider in history to win the Tour de France on five consecutive occasions tying the record of Spain's Miguel Indurain, who won from 1991 to 1995. The 31-year-old American finished the centenary running of the Tour with a lead of 1:01 minutes over German Jan Ullrich, with Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan in third place, 4:14 adrift. Armstrong Lance Deutsche Telecom [Team] Deutsche Telekom [Team] Equipe T-Mobile T Mobile [team] T-Mobile [team] Tour de France Ullrich Jan US Postal [Team] Vinokourov Alexandre Vinokourov Aleksandre Activite sportive Sport Activity Cyclisme Cycling Joie Liesse Joy Maillot Jaune Yellow Jersey Recompense Coupe Award Prix Trophee Award France Frankreich Ile-de-France Paris Horizontal Landscape Plan americain Half length # 48068_18