Just like all references to Barry Bonds and his home run records were removed from AT&T Park in San Francisco after what seemed like only hours following his retirement, the memory of Lance Armstrong was scrubbed from the walls of the U.S. training Center in Colorado Wednesday.
His quote, “I was sure to come under heavy attack from my adversaries, but what they didn’t know was how specifically and hard I had trained for this part of the race. It was time to show them,” was removed from a wall following a USADA report released last week that alleged Armstrong was part of the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
The IOC will look into the case itself before determining what to do about Armstrong’s time trial bronze from Sydney, since the eight-year statute of limitations for changing Olympic results expired just after Beijing.
Armstrong was recently dropped by Nike and Trek Bicycles, and has stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong cancer charity, which has raised nearly $500 million in donations over the last 15 years.
“To spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship,” Armstrong said in a statement. “My family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change.”