Armstrong's cancer charity faces doping fallout

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The impact of doping allegations levelled at Lance Armstrong does not end on the cycling circuit. The fallout encircles Livestrong, the charity he founded after recovering from cancer.

Launched in 2003 as an online resource for cancer survivors, the charity achieved global brand recognition a year later by adopting a yellow wristband as its hallmark, a concept Armstrong jointly developed with his sponsor Nike.

The rubber bracelets quickly became a fashion accessory - more than 80 million have been sold - and spawned a wave of imitations in different colors from other charities.

Livestrong's branding, however, had special resonance - the man who inspired them had years earlier beaten cancer and even more remarkably gone on to win the Tour de France, and its hallowed yellow jersey, multiple times.