Lance Armstrong is leaving his post as chairman of Livestrong, he announced today, in the hopes that he'll take the cloud surrounding his doping allegations with him. "This organization, its mission, and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart," he said in a statement obtained by the AP. "Today, therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of the controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship."
Armstrong has never handled the foundation's day-to-day operations. His duties in guiding the charity's big-picture strategy will be handed over to vice chairman and co-founder Jeff Garvey. "My family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change," Armstrong said. "We will remain active advocates for cancer survivors." In another blow for Armstrong, Nike today announced that it was at last terminating its contract with him, "due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade." (More Lance Armstrong stories.)