The decision means that Armstrong, a cancer survivor and
one of his sport's greatest champions who has always vehemently denied using
performance-enhancing drugs, will not face charges following the two-year-long
probe.
"I am gratified to learn that the US Attorney's
Office is closing its investigation. It is the right decision and I commend
them for reaching it," Armstrong, 40, said in a statement released through
his spokesman.
"I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a
competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this
distraction," he said.
Prosecutors have said little publicly about the case and
US Attorney Andre Birotte Jr., in a brief written statement, announced simply
that his office was "closing an investigation into members and associates
of a bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong." A source
familiar with the investigation, however, told Reuters that prosecutors had
been looking into whether the team had defrauded its main sponsor, the US
Postal Service, by doping.
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief Travis
Tygart said on Friday that the end of the federal probe into Armstrong and his
team did not mean that the USADA would drop its own investigation.
"Unlike the US Attorney, USADA's job is to protect
clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws," Tygart said in a
written statement. "Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling
is continuing and we look forward to obtaining the information developed during
the federal investigation." Doping, or using performance enhancing
substances in professional sports, is not in itself a federal crime.
The Texas-born Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record
seven consecutive times, retired from professional cycling last year.
He remains the face of his Austin-based anti-cancer
charity, Livestrong, known for its popular yellow plastic bracelets.
Despite having never failed a doping test, Armstrong has
never been able to shake allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs
to help fuel his brilliant career.
Former teammate and deposed Tour de France winner Floyd
Landis accused Armstrong in 2010 not only of using performance-enhancing drugs
but teaching others how to avoid being caught.
Landis said he witnessed some of his teammates, including
Armstrong, use illegal drugs to boost performance and endurance.
The wife of one-time Armstrong teammate Frankie Andreu
has also said that Armstrong admitted to using illegal drugs.
Sports Illustrated magazine has reported that Betsy
Andreu said in a sworn deposition that Armstrong admitted to his cancer doctors
that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO, growth hormone,
cortisone, steroids and testosterone.
Armstrong has had ties to controversial Italian doctor
Michele Ferrari, who has publicly defended the use of EPO but has denied
helping athletes enhance performance through doping.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency previously said it
has tested Armstrong 27 times since 2001, adding that the totals do not include
tests done by international organizations.
Earlier accusations that the American had used EPO during
the 1999 Tour de France led to an investigation supported by the International
Cycling Union that cleared Armstrong of doping.
The investigation followed accusations published by the
French newspaper L'Equipe that six of his urine samples from the 1999 Tour
showed traces of EPO.
"Today when I heard the decision my first thought
was, Lance won again," said Peter Flax, editor in chief of Bicycling
magazine, who said that his readers were split over whether Armstrong had used
performance-enhancing drugs.
"It kind of made me crack a little bit of a smile
because Lance has always found a way to win and today was no different,"
Flax said.
