No winners for Armstrong's Tour de France era

The seven Tour de France titles stripped from Lance Armstrong will not be awarded to any riders, and the disgraced American and his teammates should return their prize money, cycling’s governing body ruled Friday.

Acknowledging “a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period,” the UCI said the list of Tour winners will remain blank for the years from 1999 to 2005.

“This might appear harsh for those who rode clean (but) they would understand there was little honor to be gained in reallocating places,” the UCI said after a board meeting in Geneva.

The UCI said Armstrong and “all other affected riders” in the case should return their prize money. That amounts to almost $4 million in Tour money from Armstrong.

The cycling body also ordered an independent outside investigation to examine allegations about the UCI’s own conduct and relations with Armstrong raised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that detailed systematic cheating by the Texan and his teammates.

UCI has been accused of accepting $125,000 from Armstrong to cover up suspicious doping tests.

Riders and officials involved in doping programs will also be targeted by the inquiry commission.

- AP