Which Drugs Is Lance Armstrong Accused of Taking?

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Lance Armstrong in action on stage 18 of the 2009 Tour de Franc in Annecy, France, July 23, 2009.

Enough is enough. With those loaded words, seven-time Tour de France winner, cancer survivor, and patient advocate Lance Armstrong put an end to the accusations of doping that have dogged him for years. Faced with a deadline for responding to allegations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that he both used and distributed performance enhancing drugs during his competitive cycling career, Armstrong decided on Thursday to avoid arbitration with USADA and accept the agencys punishment.

USADA swiftly revoked all seven of Armstrongs Tour titles and banned him for life from the sport of cycling. The international cycling federation, Union Cycliste Internationale, has yet to take action, demanding an explanation from USADA for the agencys censure.

Armstrong has been a controversial figure in a sport buffeted by doping scandals; as the only cyclist to win the grueling Tour de France seven times, he became a lightning rod for rumors and accusations of cheating through doping. Armstrong won the first of his consecutive Tour titles three years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

USADA says it has evidence [PDF] that Armstrong had since 1999 led a conspiracy involving trainers and lab officials to encourage doping among certain cycling teams, as well as to cover up allegedly positive results from some riders. Two former members of Armstrongs United States Postal Service (USPS) and Discovery Channel teams Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton confessed to doping and told the agency they knew Armstrong used banned substances to fuel several of his Tour victories between 1999 and 2005.

(MORE: How Lance Armstrong Lost His Tour de France Titles)

In a statement posted on his website, Armstrong detailed his reasons for ending his fight against USADA, saying that the strain of the constant accusations has taken a toll on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me. He maintains his innocence. I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair, he wrote of the anti-doping agencys investigation. There is zero physical evidence to support [the] outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors.

By choosing not to arbitrate, the testimony and evidence that USADA has against Armstrong may never be heard, leaving unanswered the relevant question: Did he or didnt he take illegal performance enhancing drugs during his competitive career?

We may never know the answer to that, but what follows are drugs USADA has accused him of taking (below, is the abridged rundown taken from the agencys official charges [PDF]). USADAs allegations are based on testimony the agency took from eyewitnesses members of Armstrongs USPS and Discovery Channel cycling teams who say they saw Armstrong taking the drugs or in possession of them, or were in some cases allegedly given the banned performance enhancers by Armstrong or doctors working with the teams:

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Which Drugs Is Lance Armstrong Accused of Taking?