UCI set to make ruling on Lance Armstrong

GENEVA (AFP) - International Cycling Union (UCI) officials were set to announce their decision about the fate of Lance Armstrong on Monday, with their own credibility and that of the sport under fire.

The UCI is to reveal whether or not it will impose a life ban on Armstrong and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles on the basis of a United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) report - or reject the findings.

Usada went public earlier this month with 1,000 pages of evidence and testimony, including statements from 11 former Armstrong teammates, that were used to issue punishments in August when Armstrong refused to contest charges.

"The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen," Usada chief executive Travis Tygart said.