Livestrong Foundation drop Armstrong from title name

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The Livestrong Foundation is now the official name for the cancer charity formally titled The Lance Armstrong Foundation. The name change is another move by the foundation to distance itself from Armstrong after he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Armstrong stepped down from his position on the organisation's board of directors earlier this month.

Armstrong was stripped of his tour titles in response to the evidence compiled by USADA that uncovered a complex and systematic doping system that involved the disgraced cyclist and a number of his former US Postal teammates.

While the highly recognised yellow wristbands were commonly thought to be from Livestrong, they originated from The Lance Armstrong Foundation. It's an important step for the organisation to be able to move forward said a Livestrong spokesperson Kathrine McLane.

"For most of its life, the organization has been known as the Livestrong Foundation, but making that change official is necessary and appropriate during a time of change for the organization," McLane told Reuters.

"All of us - especially Lance - wanted Livestrong to have a presence that was bigger than its founder," board member Mark McKinnon said. "We knew that in order to make the most profound and lasting impact for cancer survivors, the cause and the organization had to have its own persona. That's exactly what Livestrong has become and Lance helped shape that effort."

Livestrong's stance to remove itself from Armstrong comes on top of the American's former sponsors that previously dropped any association with the former tour winner. Nike, Trek bicycles, SRAM, Oakley and beer maker Anheuser-Busch have severed relationships with Armstrong since the release of USADA's reasoned decision.